Lost Echoes In Antarctica
by SpunkAnimeDolphin
Summary: Tatewaki ends up traveling all the way to Antarctica to find a cure for Ranma. What happens when Ranma, winds up going there to find him? What happens when the two met again? Last but not least, what happens when Tatewaki, ends up with Hypothermia? All the answers are here in the Lost Echoes In Antarctica. FACT: Penguins live in Antarctica, and Polar Bears live in the Arctic.
1. Exploration of Antarctica

Lost Echoes In Antarctica!

**{AN: AT END}**

Prologue: Exploration of Antarctica!

It's the place that is known as the coldest, windiest, driest, and stormiest place on earth.

It's a home to many different penguins, seals, whales, and krill.

It's a cryosphere landmass that is made up of two inches of snow, ice, sea ice, ice shelves, ice bergs, and glaciers all around.

A place filled with overflowing glaciers, surrounded with ice caps, ice sheets, ice shelves, ice fields, mountains, valleys, piedmonts, cirques, caves, tidewaters, streams, and outlets.

It's a place that holds frozen waterfalls, dry valleys, and the southern pole of inaccessibility.

A place that contains extreme dangers within, such as crevasses, glaciers, mountains, coastal terrains, ice-falls, whiteouts, and snow bridge collapse; with an addition to hypothermia, frost bit, freezing, sunburns, snow- blindness, and or in lost, and disorientated situations.

A polar region that has six months of summer, that start in October, and six months of winter, that start in March. As many say, the coldest winter days here, are the hottest in Japan. Not to mention the temperatures that are lowest at one-twenty- nine below, and on average in summer, twenty to fifty below. Most of all, Australis Auroras; auroras which come from solar wind of geomagnetic storms; that come out best during the darkest months of June, July, and August.

It's a place that contains the greatest winds; winds that are highest at two-hundred miles per hour, and at average twenty miles per hour. Along with a wind-chill that's a hundred below, or even lower. These winds of current of air could create the most greatest, and dangerous storms.

Last but not least, it's a place to many explores; such as the ones before us, like Roald Amundsen, Robert Scott, and as well as all the one's after.

It's a place like no other:

Antarctica!


	2. Submarine Lab In The Antarctic Mist

Chapter One: Submarine Lab in the Antarctic Mist: Meet Dr. Keisuke!

The Antarctic environment took a overwhelming effect on him as he trudged on, and on, mile after mile; it seemed as if he could go on forever. With every step he took, which every way he turned, there was nothing but white; white- glacier landmass of consistently, flat terrain painted around him. Clam, stillness of silence filled the empty sky throughout the fog and overcast mist. Cool chilliness of subzero temperatures, below forty, filled the freezing air throughout the vast, distant polar ice- sheet covered tundra.

This polar- glacial _island_ was like an intuitional ward; inside, and out. The ice- shelves were as white, and shady as the walls. The vast area was as cold, quiet, and empty as the rooms. Last but not least, a place that's nearly impossible to escape from. Explores could end up stuck in this place all winter long, and feel as trapped as a psychiatric patient; one in which whose been locked in their room for six whole months.

On the other hand, speaking of ice- shelves.. there he was... standing there on the Ross Ice Shelf; which _hugged _the west-front side of the Transantarctic Mountains. Yet, despite of it all, this unenthusiastic, hopeless man felt as if he were isolated in the middle of nowhere. Fallowing the rare, and authentic legend of this cryosphere, this gloomy, melancholic, man found himself _all the way_ in Antarctica.

(It's white.. too white, so white, it's unsettling at times. Not only is it white, but it's bright white; I'm surprised I can still see.)

(It's quiet..too quiet, so quiet I can hear my own thoughts echoing.)

(It's cold...too cold, so cold.. I don't feel cold anymore; despise the shivers against me.)

The objective to as of why he left was only for his personal knowledge. Yet, this solemn one still had a lot of thoughts, and a lot of questions unsure of anything cretin himself.

(I left without telling anybody.. no one.)

(What had possessed me to leave, and come all the way down here of all places?)

(Why am I doing all of this?)

(What is it that I'm looking for exactly?)

(Why is it that I am looking for something that I might not even find?)

(Why am I looking for something that may not even be here to being with?)

(Why am I looking for what I am searching for? I mean..what is my reason for doing all of this in the first place?)

This uncertain one wanted to hear the answers; all the answers were soon ahead of him, but for now all he could hear was the chilly, bitter twenty mile per hour wind warp around his trembling skin. (It's windy, too windy, so windy it's almost impossible to pull, or push this sled.)

Not only did the harsh breeze blow his skin, but his autumn- brown windswept hair; which on the other hand, was still neat and tidy in the sense of layers. He was tall with a long face, and had small cold bolt eyes. He was thin, somewhat masculine with large hands, and long fingers; the ones that only wanted to wrap around the one he truly, and deeply cared for. At the age of twenty- two with a homosexual nature; it was no other then Tatewaki Kuno, himself. At the time, he was wearing a dark-blue Antarctic thermal coat that contained white fake fur for warmth; which was placed over layers of other thermal clothing such as white shirts, black pants, crampon boots, and gloves. He had sunglass hanging from shirt, and goggles around in neck in case he needed them.

Exhausted, fatigued, and depleted, he was about to give up his search, and try something different. (It's dry, too dry, so dry, it doesn't matter how much water I drink. Everyone calls it the coldest, windiest, driest place on earth for a reason; so it must be true what they say.. that the coldest winters in this place are the hottest summers in Japan.) The wiped out man sighed before he placed his hand on his stomach thinking about the lack of humidity. (Most of all.. I'm hungry, so hungry I'm starving, no matter how much I eat; and all I have left is whatever little food I still have packed in my pack here.)

He looked back at his pack when he paused at the sight of something ahead. (Could it be?)Tatewaki, dragged his red steel sled onward, closer, and closer in the direction he was in before he came to a complete, and final stop completely frozen. What was before him stunned him by surprise. He stood there stern, and solemn as he studied the object before him in deep, and profound thought. (Could it be the one thing I hath been searching for all along?)This left him to shiver; he was clearly stumped.

Not only did he shiver because of the cold, but because of stimulus that had raised up within him from the feeling of relief of his recent search. The search of the one object he had been pursuing for _most_ of his life. This very object that he had read so much about in the Hidden Legends of Antarctica. Tatewaki, looked up the legendary object before him. Tears streamed down his solemn face when he slowly, looked up to the top of the steel object; his mind wondered in mystification, puzzlement, bewilderment, and perplexity. More tears wailed up in his eyes; the very ones that shed down his wet cheeks as he wept in a mind-bottling state. (At last, after all these years..I had finally found it.)

Tatewaki looked up and down at the steel craft; or at least what was left of it anyway. It was a massive, nuclear submarine that had crashed into the Ross Ice Shelf from a extensive earthquake. After all the aftershocks it was soon frozen under the thick ice; except for the large sail that peeped out of the snow like a periscope. The sail had enormous sail panes which expanded out like open wings. Last but not least, there was a ladder; a long ladder. It went up, and lopped over the sail into one of the main entrances.

Tatewaki slowly climbed up the tall ladder, and went over into the sail entrance. After he passed through a few doors, and climbed a few more smaller ladders he eventually came across a dim room which was lit by a shady light. There was a metal table; it came with two metal chairs that were located on each side of it. On the other side of the room, from the right side of the table, there remained a long metal counter which contained shelves that came with it. There were different items that sat among the table, counter, and shelves. The room look like some sort of chemistry lab to him. Looking around in curiosity, he heard a voice approaching him.

"Who's there?" a voice grumbled in question.

Without answer, Tatewaki, quickly jumped alarmed at the voice before he slowly turned to a lantern that was right in front of his face. "Ugh!" Right then, Tatewaki, stumbled back on the edge in nervous tension.

"Show yourself, kid," the voice griped in control.

As soon as Tatewaki got his nerves together he fixed his eyes on the person before him with an intent barely made out a hefty old man; who was the age of seventy-two. He had thin white hair, yet a thick mustache, and beard. He had small squinty blue eyes, and was quite short for his stature. He was wearing a long- sleeve, dark- blue shirt, and a white shirt underneath; which was on top of the rest of the layers; including a white lab coat, and pants.

His personality, was nothing but bi- polar on the quandary; for a man who likes puzzles, he's certainly one himself. At times it seems as if no one can figure him out. Although, there are those who weren't fooled by his silence. When he's around other people he's zippy, quick, and ill manner; so at times he could be a bit cold. He generally doesn't like to be bothered, and remains hiding behind his work in isolation, and solitary.

He's all for figuring out things, challenges, mysteries, the unknown. He's the kind of a guy who gives out hints, not answers. Not that he wouldn't help others in need. He just likes to do it his way, and leave them with their own opinions. Either way, he has no hesitation generating wisdom among those who needed it.

"Who are you?" the voice asked once more.

Tatewaki, stepped back once more, uneasy, and tense. "Why, I'm- I'm-"

"- the one that called me earlier?" The elder interrupted taking a highly educated guess.

Tatewaki, looked down in overcast frown before he replied in a soft, mild voice. "Aye. Tatewaki Kuno, head instructor of the Kendo Club, age twenty-two, I-"

"-came here looking for answers? The elder interrupted, again.

Although Tatewaki, was in his mind-bottling state, it didn't stop him from _defending_ himself either. This time Tatewaki, had stepped forwarded, and scowled at aged man with a cold, icy stare. "Dear to insult me with your interruptions!? Can ye just give me what I need, and tell me what I need to know, so I get started on my quest? What's more, I do most certainly have more questions; I had not come all the way down here just to see the Penguins you know."

The aged man turned with expression of interest on his face before he calmly held out his hand. "Dr. Keisuke." Tatewaki, and Dr. Keisuke, finally shook hands before the doctor had quickly let go. "Fallow me." He walked back the other way he came as Tatewaki, trailed behind him.

"So, why are you_ all the way _down here in Antarctica, of all places?" Dr. Keisuke, asked in interest, and wonderment.

Tatewaki ogled at the man in quite a surprise. "I thought you got the impression that I had wanted to come down here to see if the legend was true?"

"Oh... it's true all right," Dr. Keisuke, pulled out few books, and sat them on the table without another word.

"Well..is it here? Dost ye hast what I seek for?"

Dr. Keisuke, who was now behind the table as he looked back down at the books, for a minute in silence.

Tatewaki tapped his foot in frustration as impatient looks crossed his face. "Well, dost ye have it, or not!?"

Dr. Keisuke looked up from the books to Tatewaki. "You mentioned before about a cure for that friend of yours, right?"

Tatewaki drew in a small breath before he answered. "Aye."

After that he turned back to Dr. Keisuke."You said that it was here."

"Oh... it's here all right."

There was another silent pause between them before Tatewaki, replied. "So..."

"Here's the thing... it's not _in here_, so you have to go get it... without me."

"You mean thou art coming not?" Tatewaki, asked taken aback.

Dr. Keisuke shrugged before he glanced up at Tatewaki. "Apparent so.. I can't get it."

Tatewaki scowled at Dr. Keisuke, in vein, and anger. "What do you mean _you can't get it_?"

"Well, look at me; I can't exactly trudge off into the mountains. At least, not a man of my age; it won't look to good on my health."

Tatewaki snapped when both of his fist had hit the table. "You_ live_ here!"

"Now, now, don't sound so troubled; I'll explain everything to you before you head on out."

Tatewaki's voice was harsh, but low. "If the cure isn't here then where is it? How am I even suppose to find my way if you don't come with me?"

"Don't worry. I told you already, there's nothing to agonize about; I have everything you need, and I'll also help you find your way," Dr. Keisuke, finally sat down before he held out a hand to Tatewaki, to the chair. "Go ahead, take a seat."

Tatewaki let out a sigh before he exchanged looks with the elder. He finally sat down when his eyes turned toward the books."So, what's in the books?"

Dr. Keisuke handed Tatewaki, a careful look before he turned the book around to him. "The legend you're looking for is in here. The real the legend; not the tacky, reprinted versions like the one that you have."

"How are you so sure that the one I found is a counterfeit copy?" Tatewaki, questioned in a serious tone.

"This is the only genuine one. The specific legend you're referring to is named Ice Crystals of Mixed Seas. This time, Dr. Keisuke, handed Tatewaki, a steep look that was filled with wonder, and mystery. "It was said that a long ago.. that an devastating earthquake had hit, and picked up a catastrophic tsunami. The tsunami created a current that had spread throughout many others; such as Ross Sea, the Tasman Sea, and the Coral Sea; which took different routes to the South China Sea, the East China Sea, all the way up to the Yellow Sea. Not only did Antarctic waters mixed with the seas, but with the rivers, streams, lakes, and run- off as well."

"In addition to that, one of those rivers were the Yellow River; the river that was soon filled with the waters of the Kunlun Mountains. And, one of those sources had came from Jusenkyo, and had flowed out into the Yellow Sea. Along with that, the magical waters of Jusenkyo, had mixed in with the currents; and one of those currents were the Ross Sea. Some of Jusenkyo's water froze inside the Ross Ice Shelf, creating rare ice crystals that were formed inside a oxygen, ice bubble. Over time, many have tried to reach the ice crystals, but none of them had never been able to reach it. Weather it would've been for a cure, money, power.. whatever the case may be; it was all in vein; everyone that tried to get close to it died at sea."

Tatewaki stood up in irritation. "I already acknowledged all of that. How is this any different from what I read?"

Dr. Keisuke cleared his throat. "Here is the part you don't know."Dr. Keisuke paused for a moment before he looked back up at Tatewaki. "It was a few years later, but there was one crew that made it...at least for the most part."

Tatewaki carefully read the look in his eyes; knowing that whatever Dr. Keisuke, was going to say it had to do with him personally.

"It was my crew."

"Your crew?" Tatewaki, question out in almost a whisper."So this your submarine?"

Dr. Keisuke nodded in silence."Fallowing the legend, my team, and I went out looking for them in this very submarine; at the time, the very same 9.8 earthquake made us crash into the Ross Ice Shelf. Conversely, instead of another tsunami we had many, many aftershocks. After every aftershock, we got pulled in more, and more into the ice shelf; that's when we came across an ice cave within the ice shelf. We pulled in as many ice crystals as we could, and then started to carrying out test. After all of our experiments, we eventually came across a cure. A cure so good, that could reverse any Jusenkyo curse, no matter how defective. It's said that if you melt these crystals, in a certain form, or way, and have someone drink so much of it that _they_ will get cured."

"After we found a cure we had lost power, and the rest of my team decided to leave one by one..." Dr. Keisuke, looked down for a minute in silence. "They all died."

Tatewaki glanced a aside, before he questioned sober. "Then how come you're still here?"

"I decided to stay," Dr. Keisuke, answered at first; he simply continued."Two days later, a search crew came to recover the submarine. After they found me they went to search for the rest of my team... but by then it was too late."

Tatewaki's brow lifted in query, motivated. "Then how come I can't get those crystals here? Thou hast mention that ye hast crashed into an ice cave."

"Fallow me." Dr. Keisuke took Tatewaki, up to the entrance. "Whatever ice that fell, or had blasted away refrozen over the years since."

"Wherefore ye leave it open not!?"Tatewaki snapped in question, waiting or a good reasonable explanation. In addition, what he wanted he got.

"I'm not here during the winter; it must have frozen over then," Dr. Keisuke answered in full, and complete honesty.

Tatewaki narrowed his eyes at the doctor, bitter, and pessimistic. "So where is this cure at, cause I don't remember it being mentioned?"

Since then, I did more research on the earthquake trying to find different sources, and currents that may have taken the ice-crystals elsewhere around the same area; as for the cure.. it's nine meters down inside Lake Fryxell-"

Tatewaki's eyes shot wide open. "Inside-" On the other hand, Dr. Keisuke, simply continued on.

"It's a lake filled with blue ice; it's actually quiet unique; you should really check it out."

"Nine meters down?" Tatewaki begun as his voice started off before it ranged."That's almost all the way near, down at the bottom; how am I suppose to get that?"

"With a drill," Dr. Keisuke simply replied.

"A drill?" Tatewaki questioned off crestfallen panic."But, I don't have a drill?"

"I'll give you one." Tatewaki looked at Dr. Keisuke, in irritation. "You know, I'm not here to go ice- fishing you know."

"A drill for drilling ice cores," Dr. Keisuke declared in a setback tone; clearing up the confusion.

"You expect me to lug around a nine meter ice core drill , and start digging out ice cores?"

"It's a _lazar_, ice core drill, from the Tanaka Diamond Lazar Ice Core Drill company." Dr. Keisuke emphasized in description.

{AN: Which I half- way made up by the way.}

Tatewaki just sent Dr. Keisuke, a serious look of intent; he was too far, and too bothered by his own thoughts to be listening to any kind of amusement, or entertainment. Dr. Keisuke, on the other hand, read him quite well; this led him to pull out a file when he tossed it out on the table between him, and Tatewaki. "I'm not making this up."

Tatewaki eyed the file back up to Dr. Keisuke. "What's in the file?"

"This file that contains information, data, graphs, and x- rays, of the recent ice cores, that I have collected in the past years," Dr. Keisuke opened the file before he held one of the pictures out in front of Tatewaki. "Once you've found the lake, you're going to be looking for something like _this_."

Tatewaki narrowed his brows, toward the x- ray picture. "And what is _that_ may I ask?

"This is a x- ray of the ice bubble underneath a few layers of ice. These rings around it are made from when the bubble was formed. These rings appear to seem as if they're sitting on top of the ice; when it's actually underneath a very thin layer of it. In order to get to the ice crystals, you have to drill out some ice core samples starting from these rings." After his explanation, he turned to Tatewaki. "It's best that you at least get four ice core samples from the same bubble; that should be enough. Furthermore, make sure that the ice is as old as the day the earthquake had hit. The dates are on the file. If you can't receive the popper age of the ice crystal it's not going to do you any good."

Tatewaki snapped back at Dr. Keisuke, in even more disbelief. "How am I going to carry all four of them!? I mean, where am I to put them?"

Dr. Keisuke pulled out a black long cylinder case.. "This ice core protector, is particularly made to keep the ice crystals within temperature, so you don't have to worry about it melting. Not to mention the fact they come with straps; this way, you can either pack them with your things, or carry them over your shoulder. Everything else you need to know about it is in there; including directions in there on how to cut the ice core sample out."

Tatewaki saw Dr. Keisuke, place the picture down, as Tatewaki, himself, simply let it sit on the table. "Now that I know what I'm looking for, how am I going to get there?"

"With this," Dr. Keisuke rolled out an old map on the other side of the table.

Tatewaki studied the antique before him. "A map?"

"Exactly, you wanted to know where Lake Fryxell is located right?" Dr. Keisuke questioned Tatewaki's better half.

"So where exactly is this lake you speak of?" Dr. Keisuke lifted the ancient map before Tatewaki; he pointed to the spot. "It's in Victoria Land, at the end of Taylor Valley." Dr. Keisuke then pulled out three pens: one red, one green, and the other black; he soon turned to Tatewaki, eye to eye. "Now pay close attention, because I'm only going over this with you once."

Tatewaki, sighed in irritation. "Okay then, just tell me what I need to be, so I can get going already."

Dr. Keisuke put a dotted mark on the map with a green marker. "Right now, you're here," After that, he traced a green line across the Ross Ice Shelf to the Transantarctic Mountains. "From there you'll take the Transantarctic Mountain's fault line down to Victoria land." Subsequently, he drew a line to Victoria Land to Taylor Valley to Lake Fryxell. "Then from Victoria Land, across Taylor Valley, and finally to Lake Fryxell. Afterwards, he made a red line from Lake Fryxell across the snow bridge he mentioned; and last but not least, back to the Ross Ice Shelf."

With the only the desperate feeling of hope, and confidence that was brought to this insignificant man didn't last very long. "Humph, sounds simple enough to me."

"So it may seem, but it's not as easy as it looks; being stranded in the middle of nowhere in Antarctica, is _not_ a situation that you want to be in." Dr. Keisuke, grabbed the black marker, when he started to ward off different areas. " Now these X's tell you not to travel in _that_ area; they also tell you what paths you should not to take, and which places not to enter.–"If you get lost, and end up wondering off the map, you might end up at the Polar Plateau. If you end up at the Polar Plateau, you could find yourself all the way down at the South Pole; or even by Dome C, or even father, all the way up to Dome A. If you end up at Dome A, you could end up even worse off, and end up at the Lambert Glacier; one of the most dangerous, and difficult glaciers to cross. Let's hope you don't get stranded out there."

Tatewaki sat there with his arms folded as he studied the map thinking that Dr. Keisuke, was starting to _go over the Ross Ice Shelf _himself. "Does ye think thou art getting carried away?"

Dr. Keisuke replied back along with another life- long lesson."The route you're taking is very hazardous; in fact it's _so_ treacherous you could end up just about anywhere if you're not careful enough. More so, don't forget this is Antarctica we're talking about; it's not always exactly a walk in the park. There's glaciers, that with a certain amount of weight, you could into deep cracks, due to thin ice, and weak areas. There's ice-shelves that could crack, making ice fall. And mountains all around; which means there could be avalanches. Not to mention there could also be snow- bridge collapses, and even costal terrain blocking you with sea ice. Last but not least, crevasses."

"Crevasses?" Tatewaki questioned confused, new to the term.

Dr. Keisuke let out a small sigh, before he turned back to Tatewaki. "Crevasses, are cracks in the ice- sheet that could be as deep as forty-five meters, as wide as twenty meters, and as long as a hundred meters; they can even be hidden by snow bridges. Now for the most part we have black flags, tagged around those areas, but not all areas."

Tatewaki's almost dropped his jaw without another word.

Dr. Keisuke saw the reaction on Tatewaki's face, as he reacted off of it himself. "I wouldn't want to fall down one of those now."A moment past before Dr. Keisuke continued. "That's not all, it gets worse. There are areas out there that are vast, so illusive, so disoriented that it's bewilderly upsetting. Far more then perplexed mirages, illusions, delusions, and hallucinations will come. This place messes with mind, senses, and body making you feel delirious. Believe me, this is one place you don't want to be stuck at; if you don't end up believing it so. You could enter any path, you think you're taking, and find out later that you were on a whole other path all along." Dr. Keisuke shrugged aside."Not to mention the weather on top of it all; if none of those get to you, the cold will: Freezing, frost bite, sunburn, snow-blindness, and even hypothermia."

Tatewaki's eyes didn't move; all he did was swallow, and had scooted closer in his chair. Dr. Keisuke could tell he was quite anxious at this point; yet, he had to be honest, and completely honest with Tatewaki; if he was gonna let him travel out there on his own. A serious expression spread across the scientist's face. "All I'm saying is that if you realize that you're on the wrong path, it would be wise to turn back, _if_ at all possible."

The apprehensiveness only held Tatewaki, to a certin point before he thought the obvious. (A forty-five deep crack in the ice-sheet, and snow-blindness..please...) "Impossible! It sounds ridiculous. Here I am, starting to think that you're begging to make things up."

"And, here I am, marking them down right on the map," Dr. Keisuke answered in a serious tone.

"Any other confusing passageways, deep cracks, or illusive areas that I'm not aware about?" Tatewaki dragged along in concerned incredulity, and skepticism.

Dr. Keisuke simply shook his head. "Not that I know of?"

"Seriously.." Tatewaki questioned in suspicion. "You're not going to tell me that next that there's a area filled deep pockets with liquid nitrogen, now are you?"

Dr. Keisuke shook his head before he looked upon at what was an interesting highly, studied, educated guess. "According scientist, this whole place use to be a tropical rainforest, and could turn back into one, in the next hundred years, or so."

Tatewaki simply shut his eyes as he re-sat back; he blinked in surprise. "Really?"

"Could," Dr. Keisuke shrugged. "Who knows what's going to happen in the next hundred years."

Afterwards, Dr. Keisuke had Tatewaki, fallow him to a small locker that was nearby the side hall. Dr. Keisuke opened it before he turned to Tatewaki, with a look. "This is what you'll need on your trip?"

Tatewaki looked at all the equipment; from backpacks, ropes, hooks, helmets, ice axes, crampons, other safety precautionary things. Along with; _sources of light, packs, high energy, protein, and calorie-rich foods; water, canteens , boots, gloves, hats, sunglasses_, _layers of thermal clothes_ _(including thermal jackets, and winter Antarctic coats.); a sled, and sled parts, and last but not least, breathable, water proof, and insulated, otter shell sleeping bags; made from Himalayan Hotel. _ The list continued all the way to the Laser Ice Core Drill.

"I already have some of this stuff," Tatewaki turned to Dr. Keisuke. "What makes ye think that I Tatewaki Kuno, wouldn't come up here without anything?"

"Just take what you need, and if you need anything extra, it's yours," After that, Dr. Keisuke went over all the gear with Tatewaki. Once Tatewaki, started sorting through his pack, Dr. Keisuke, started to set up his lab.

"So-" Dr. Keisuke began. "-tell me all about this Ranma, figure?"

Tatewaki suddenly looked up at Dr. Keisuke, and froze. A minute past before he looked down at the sack in despair; Tatewaki, turned his eyes away aside in obscurity. "I thought we already had this conversation over the _phone_; what else is there that you need to know?"

"All right then, son, just answer me this?" Dr. Keisuke narrowed his eyes at Tatewaki, with a shrug as he shook his head. "Why?"

Tatewaki narrowed his hopeless eyes to Dr. Keisuke, in wonderment. Wondering why the scientist wanted to know why he was doing, what he was doing; in other words, scooping _another_ _reason_ out of Tatewaki, himself."Wherefore?"

"Why are you going through all this trouble coming all the way down here, to Antarctica of places, for your nemesis of all people?" Dr. Keisuke shook his head, and shrugged his shoulders in wonderment. "Just tell me; I'm curious. It's not every day arch- enemies, and rivals alike travel to the driest, coldest place on the planet to find a _cure_ for the other you know."

Tatewaki looked away in distraught; still, he just couldn't seem to control the small blush across his cheeks. "Well... I don't know." He shrugged aside. "I guess, I'm just- trying to figure out where I stand with the guy."

"So otherwise, you're saying that his cruse has something to do with you," Dr. Keisuke guessed; taking lucky leaps. "Something important..." Dr. Keisuke took a pause before he continued. "Something that you're confused about, so you've came all this way to clear your head."

Tatewaki dropped his downcast eyes down at the sack; he let out a uneasy breath, tense.

Dr. Keisuke starched his head as he studied Tatewaki's face, and reaction. Reading him quiet clearly Dr. Keisuke, himself, placed his hand under his chain. "Just as I thought." Tatewaki blinked confused before he glanced up at the doctor. "Huh?"

"You have nothing to worry about. " He opened up the books digging through the pages as he glanced back at forth from them to Tatewaki. "My brothers the same way."

Tatewaki, shot a surprised look at the old man. "So you- um- mind not?"

Dr. Keisuke gave Tatewaki, a look. "Of course I don't; I've always been supportive of my brothers decisions. Beside, take a good look where you are son; do you think anyone around here is going to care?"

"Uh- what do you mean _anyone around here_? There's no one here."

"Exactly, so there's no reason for you to be so self- conscious about it," he let out one last shrug before he turned to his books."If there's anything to be alert about it's the weather around here. I'm sure you'll be more worried about that than anything else while you're here."

Just then, Tatewaki changed the subject. "How long will it take me?"

Dr. Keisuke looked up from his lab equipment before he fixed his eyes on Tatewaki, as he shrugged. "As long as it takes, but it should only take you about four months there, and back."After Dr. Keisuke explained everything he rolled the map, and file up before he stored it in a tin cylinder; to protected it from getting ruined. After that, he handed it to Tatewaki. "Here, try not to lose it."

Tatewaki glanced at the tin cylinder, and then back up to Dr. Keisuke, with a insulted look. "I won't lose it."

"Or this," Dr. Keisuke, handed over a handheld transceiver to Tatewaki.

"And what's this for?"

"So we can communicate. I want to make sure you get there safe. You know, if you have questions, or get yourself into trouble, or get yourself lost; I can be somewhat of an assistance. It's not perfect, and I can only give you the directions I have from within here, but it's the best I can do; just don't go off the grid of your route."

Tatewaki, tossed him a look.

Dr. Keisuke, shrugged aside. "Hey now, there's no reason to be provoked, or bothered. It's fine. At least it's better than nothing."

Tatewaki stood as he looked at his boots; he let out a long sigh. (What _had_ made me to do this in the first place?)

Dr. Keisuke re-called out his name. "Tatewaki?"

Tatewaki first just stood there in silence.

"Tatewaki, are you all right?"

Tatewaki nodded as he shrugged a bit. "Yeah, I'm fine."

Dr. Keisuke, put one hand on his shoulder with a relaxed smug on his face. "Hey, don't worry about it; you're gonna be all right. Just think about who you're going through all this trouble for?" He handed in extra pat before he walked over to his things. "You're all packed; I've checked over everything, so you don't need to worry about it."

Tatewaki, nodded in disconsolate state; he gather his things as Dr. Keisuke, help him put his pack on his back. "Just let me do the testing, and you go have your little adventure. Have a safe trip; be careful out there, okay?"

Tatewaki nodded before he headed out of the front- end o the submarine; where it had crashed. He turned back to Dr. Keisuke, for a minute before he gave him one last wave. Dr. Keisuke waved back as he gave a nod of assurance, for the acceptance to leave.


	3. Pursuit After Tatewaki: We meet again

Chapter Two:

Pursuit After Tatewaki: We Meet Again!

Two weeks later, Ranma, tracked his black boots through the snow. He also had on black pants, a red Antarctic thermal coat; the one that came with fake white fur; which covered his black layered clothing. Not to mention the hoddie covered his that covered hair, and _pig-tail_ He, who was now the age of twenty- one; at medium height with a muscular tone, and sharpie eyes; the very blue eyes that looked around the vast area of cloudy skies, misty air, hazy tones, and foggy ambiance. He obtain the same feel to Antarctica's environment as Tatewaki, did. (This place is so surreal.) Antarctica, seem dreamlike, unreal, trancelike, and illusive to him. There was nothing more beyond him in the distance, but glaciers, glaciers, and more glaciers. The eccentric atmosphere even almost had him out of it; as of some yesterdays flashbacks played in the back in his mind.

***FLASHBACK***

Kodachi ran into the Tendo Dojo with Sasuke as tears shot down her face in distress. She ran right up to Ranma, as she held his arm. "Ranma- darling, you have to help us find my brother. He's been missing for two months now. We did everything we can, but we still haven't been able to find him; and I'm running out of options."

Ranma turned to Kodachi. "You mean to tell me that your brother still isn't back yet?"

Sasuke cleared his throat. "At first we thought he took off training in the mountains for a few weeks, but he never came back. After the first month we called everyone we possibly can, to help us find him, but no one has found him since."

Nabiki blinked in wonderment when Akane, filled in. "Two months?"

"That doesn't sound like Kuno, at all to me," Akane stated alarmed.

"She's right, he should've been back by now," Nabiki agreed taking Akane's side.

Ranma looked down in thought. "Even if he were training in the mountains, he should've been back _by now_."

"Oh my, I sure hope he's hasn't been hurt," Kasumi filled in.

Ranma rolled his eyes in annoyance. "Knowing that idiot, something probably did happen to him."

Everyone got on his back that time. "Ranma?"

Ranma just looked aside as he let out a sigh. He turned back to Kodachi, and Sasuke. "What makes you guys think I can find him?"

"While we were searching around the house we stumbled upon a clue; one, that may _very well_ help us find him," Sasuke dropped a flight itinerary, and ticket receipts on the table. Ranma read the information as his eyes enlarged in protest. "Antarctica!?"

Looks flew around the table before everyone else replied. "Antarctica!?"

Akane's eyes widened right open in a different tone. "Kuno's in Antarctica!?"

"I wonder what Kuno-baby, would be doing all the way over there for?" Nabiki asked in concerned wonderment.

"Ah, maybe he went to visit the Penguins," Soun pointed out.

Genma had his hand under his chin in thought before he raised it to the group. "Testing his cutting- watermelon technique with the Penguins."

Tendo laughed along. "Ha-ha, that's a good one Saotome."

Ranma handed them an off look. "Cutting watermelon with flightless birds." The thought printed in his mind; but just as soon as he quickly shook it off.

"Hey, if could give himself amnesia, I'm pretty sure _flying to Antarctica_ wouldn't be the weirdest thing he has ever done," Akane finished off.

Ranma turned to Genma, and Soun with inferior scowl neglective. "Probably got himself into something he shouldn't have." He paused as he let out a frustrating breath. "Gee, that idiot, is always getting himself into trouble."

Kasumi blinked surprised. "I sure hope he's all right. I can't image anyone going all the way there all by themselves."

"What makes you guys think he's there alone?" Ranma questioned aside.

"Because if he did invite anyone it would've been that Pigtailed girl of his," Kodachi answered back.

Ranma turn to Kodachi, and Sasuke, once more. "So you guys want me to go all the way to Antarctica to look for Kuno?"

Sasuke closed his eyes, and held up a finger making his point. "That's exactly it."

Ranma scowled at Kodachi, in vein. "No way! If that _idiot_ once to get himself lost in a place where no one can find him, so be it."

Kodachi put her hands together as she wore a puppy- dog pout. "You've got too Ranma, he's the only brother I have.

"Then why won't you guys just tell those other people where he is then?"

"Because they're already busy looking for him here. Besides, you're the only one I can trust. Not only that, but if you were to find him you've found him by now. Please, Ranma, you're the only one I can count on. Furthermore we'll be wife, and husband soon; and as family honor goes in our house, you don't have much of a choice."

Ranma snapped back at her. "We are not!"

Tears started up in Kodachi's eyes again as Ranma, looked down at the table as he let out another sigh.

"Look Kodachi, I can't risk going down there looking for your brother, okay; you're just gonna have to let those other people do it. Besides, even if I _had_ wanted too how would I get there anyway?"

Kodachi pulled back for a minute. "Why, the estate would give you money for a plane ticket, of course."

Akane eyed Ranma with a comment of challenge. "And you call yourself a Martial Artist, huh?"

"Then why won't you go all the way to Antarctica, and find him yourself then if you're so worried about him?" Ranma snapped back.

"You should go son; improve yourself as a Martial Arts against Antarctica's fiercest storms," Genma, open to the idea.

"Go on Son- in- law; take Akane, with you," Soun responded out next.

Nabiki, shrugged aside as she tossed an odd expression toward Ranma. "I sure wouldn't wanna miss out on a chance to go. There is always a first time for everything."

Ranma scratched his head with a guilty look on his face. Nevertheless, that guilty face turned into a small grin. "Hey now, you guys should have nothing to worry about. I mean, now that you have his flight information, you guys _know _where he is. I'm sure if that moron can make it there I'm sure he could make it back."

Sasuke held up his finger again making another point. "That's just it. What if he's not there? What if he changed his mind and threw his tickets away at the last minute. What if he's just making us think he's there where he could be elsewhere."

Ranma's eyes shot dagger- eyes at the two. "Then why are you guys making me to go all the way to Antarctica, to find him, when he might not even be there in the first place?"

Nabiki lifted up her finger this time making her own point. "If Kuno- baby, has been gone for two months there's a good chance he just might be there. After all, if you find him it'll give you to the chance to ask him why."

"That's true," Kodachi joined in after. "Since he left without saying a word."

Ranma finally gave in. "All right, all right, all right; if you guys want me to go so badly then I'll go."

Kodachi, and Sasuke's eyes brighten. "You will?" "Yeah, yeah, yeah... I know when you guys start talking like that,-" Ranma shrugged pushing his eyes aside. "- I guess it can't be helped."

Kodachi hugged him as her sadden tears turned into happy ones. Ranma eyed the group as he tried to push Kodachi, off. "Only on one condition." Nabiki eyed him in question. "Which would be?"

"I go by myself, or I don't go at all," Ranma started off thinking of the worst that could happen. Nabiki blinked, with another question. "Then, what are we gonna do about Akane?"

Akane turned away. "Humph..let him go by himself; see if I care."

Soun made claw hands as he leaned half way over the table to Ranma. "You take my darling little girl; you hear me?" Ranma looked straight at him. "Look, I'm sorry Mr. Tendo, but I can't risk taking Akane, down there with me. I'm not gonna responsible for anyone, or anything if something goes wrong while I'm down there. Besides, if I had to take someone with me, it would have to be Kodachi. It's her brother that's down there after all."

"I'm afraid he's right daddy," Nabiki put in agreement.

"Not only that, we only agree to buy for one," Kodachi added along aside. She then turned to Ranma.

"Which, includes everything, my darling," after she said that she started to list everything that would come with the trip. Ranma turned to Kodachi. "So, when do you need me to go."

"A.S.A.P."

"How about tomorrow," Ranma trying to reason with her.

"Tomorrow it is then," Kodachi added. Then, all of a sudden, she jumped, and hugged Ranma, once more. This time, Akane, got invoked, and mallet Ranma, this time.

***END FLASHBACK***

A cold drift of wind shook Ranma, back to the Antarctic reality as he gritted his shaking teeth. (Ugh...) He took a breath when cold vapor escaped his mouth. (What possessed me to come down here looking for that stupid, idiotic, senseless, brainless-) All of a suddenly Ranma, came to stun paused taken aback by the very same object that Tatewaki, had searched for. (What the-?) His face expression froze to his face as eyes only grew wider. At last, he gritted this teeth together once more in stimulating puzzlement. (-heck is that thing?)

Ranma shook it off as he quickly looked side to side; he was more bewilder than ever. He blinked a few times before another thought re- opened his eyes. (Could it be that Kuno's- in _there_?) He ran up closer to mysteries steel object as he studied it's shape. His brow twitched trying to figure out what this mysteries object was. (What is this?) He looked toward the other side. (Is this part of plane, or something?)

He looked up, and down at the ladder. (Well if Kuno, is in here I guess I better go check it out.) Ranma climbed the ladder, and made it to the top when he saw the opening of the entrance of the submarine. Ranma, conclusively made his way down the ladder when he finally realized that inside looked nothing like a plane. (Well it doesn't seem I'm on a plane.) Ranma, stood there in thought. (Well if I'm not on a plane.. then what is it?)

At last, Ranma, passed a few rooms when he ultimately bumped into the same room that Tatewaki, had entered. Ranma, only shifted his eyes back, and forth around the room. "What is this place?" After that Ranma, heard a voice.

The elder looked up from his experiments with a cold sigh. "And they just keep coming."

Ranma jumped at the voice as he followed it to the table. "Uh, hello?" Although, it was hard to see with the dim light, Ranma, had finally laid eyes on the zippy, bi- polar, isolated, hefty, seventy-two year old. All at the same time, Ranma, felt the squinty, blue eyes staring right back at him.

Ranma just stood there without another word, anxious. (Man, is this place, giving the creeps, or what?)

Subsequently, he saw the old man stand up, push in his chair, and grabbed his lantern, before he made his way up to him.

"You're two weeks late kid?"

Ranma felt insulted, and confused. "Excuse me? I'm what?"

"We were waiting for you."

Ranma frowned at the doctor with deep distrust. (Waiting for me.. wait, whose _we_?) "What is this place?"

"You're in a submarine that had crash into the Ross Ice Shelf years ago," Dr. Keisuke answered.

Ranma looked at the doctor in disbelief. "A submarine?"

Dr. Keisuke simply nodded.

"Here?"

Dr. Keisuke nodded again.

"In Antarctica?"

Dr. Keisuke nodded once more.

"What's submarine doing all the way here for?"

"You'll understand soon enough."

"Understand what? Not one thing made sense since I've walked through that _door_," Ranma snapped as he pointed to the doorway behind him. "Look, I don't know what's going on here, but you have the wrong person."

"I highly doubt that; seeing as I'm the only working here."

Ranma eyed him. "You're the only one here?"

The doctor nodded. "Yeah."

Ranma looked aside. "Oh."

"Why?" Ranma held his anger in as he shook it off.

"I'm- "

"-looking for someone?"

"Uh- yeah… how'd you know?"

Dr. Keisuke shrugged aside. "Common sense."

"Uh yeah, have you seen anyone around here at all?"

"I have people come, and go; who are you looking for?"

"Ku-" Ranma paused for a minute. "Uh.. hold on." Ranma grabbed a picture out of his pocket before he showed it to him. "This brainless idiot."

Suddenly, the doctor snapped his fingers. "Just what I thought?"

Ranma blinked at a loss again. "What?"

The elderly doctor held his hand out. "Ranma Saotome, Dr. Keisuke."

Ranma shook the doctors hand in confusion. "How- how did you know my name?"

"It's called a hypothesis kid." Subsequently, Dr. Keisuke, studied the picture, Ranma, and then the picture again. "He's here."

"So, Kuno_ is_ here?"

"Oh he's here alright." Dr. Keisuke handed Ranma, a look of thought. "Here's the thing. He's not in here, so-"

"Well if he isn't here then where is he?" Ranma was now face to face with the elder.

"He's around?"

"Around?" Ranma quizzed back impatient. "Around where? If I don't find that brainless moron, soon, I'm not even gonna have a home to go back too."

"That's all a matter opinion?"

"_All a matter of opinion_?" Ranma's face was expressed otherworldly. "What are you talking about?"

"Relax kid. He's fine," Dr. Keisuke tossed a look aside. "That I know of?"

"_That you know of_?" Ranma repeated in a angry tone.

"He's out there hiking the Transantarctic Mountains to get to the Lake Fryxell."

"What for?"

"To look for something?"

"For what?" Dr. Keisuke walked over to his lab, and put one of his own ice cores on the table.

"This."

"And what is _this_?" Ranma questioned confused.

"An ice core."

"An ice core?" Ranma studied it with an odd expression on his face."Why in the world would he come all this way just for that?"

"It's not the ice core itself, but what's inside the ice core that he's looking for?"

"So what inside that ice core thing that he's looking for?"

"Ice crystals," Dr. Keisuke simply responded in answer.

"What's he lookin' for a bunch of ice crystals for?"

Dr. Keisuke bit his lip. "You have to have ask him that one."

Ranma tossed the back to Dr. Keisuke, then looked at the ice core in deep thought before he heard a voice re-appeared.

"I would've been up there with him, but I'm health isn't as good as it use to be. So, I'm helping him out with any issues he may have from down here."

Ranma widened his eyes before he pointed out in nowhere in particular. "You let that crazy, senseless, idiotic moron, hike a bunch of mountains in a place like this all by himself. "You're gonna get him killed."

"Relax, he'll be fine. I'm keeping my eye on him to make sure he gets there safe, and all."

"He'll be fine? You hardly know the guy."

"I know him well enough." Ranma folded his arms, as he shrugged. "So I guess he's told you about me, Akane, and the Pigtailed girl, huh?"

"He mentioned a few things," Dr. Keisuke let out carefully. "Sometimes, I feel like I know him better then you do."

Ranma held his fist up."What's that suppose to mean?"

"You absolutely, have _no_ idea what Tatewaki, is down here for, do you?"

Ranma shook his head. "I wouldn't be asking you if I knew, now would I?"

Dr. Keisuke held up his finger to Ranma. "My point exactly."

"What is it that you know about Kuno, that I don't already know?"

Dr. Keisuke tossed his eyes aside toward Ranma. "Why he's here would be a start."

"So why is he here?"

"I think it's wise if you ask him when you find him," Dr. Keisuke pointed out.

Ranma sighed as he shook his head; he wasn't getting anywhere with the scientist. Just then Ranma's eyes caught the stuff that was on the counter. "So what's all that stuff?" Ranma, asked in wonderment.

"I'll put it in these terms. I'll explain what you need to know here; and then when you meet up with Tatewaki, at the Transantarctic Mountains, he'll explain the rest of it to you there, okay."

Ranma folded his arms. "So, how do I get there?"

"There's a helicopter waiting outside for you. I had Tatewaki, go on foot because we only have on polite out here."

Ranma, pointed to himself. "For me?"

Dr. Keisuke nodded before he lifted his finger, pausing at a point. "But first, I have some things to go over with you before you head on out."

Ranma went through some of the same procedures as Tatewaki, expect for the missing information within the file that was given to Ranma. This led him to integrate Dr. Keisuke, to the end.

Dr. Keisuke handed him a simple answer. "The file says it all."

After they were done, Dr. Keisuke, handed him a handheld transceiver with a miniature box attached to it. "This is a electronic tracker. It'll start blinking green when you're near Tatewaki. It doesn't extend that many feet, but it should help. All you have to do is hook it to your transceiver, understood?"

Ranma nodded. "Understood." A few minutes later, Ranma got dressed, and packed, and ready before Dr. Keisuke, helped him put his pack on. By this time, they both heard the helicopter before Ranma, turned back to the doctor.

"Ready?"

"Yeah. Don't worry, Dr. Keisuke, I'll catch up to him," Ranma was about to head out when he heard Dr. Keisuke, call for him. Ranma, simply turned back behind him.

"One thing before you go."

Ranma shrugged. "What is it?"

"Let's just say that Tatewaki's emotions match the weather outside. So try not to be too hard on him once you see him," Dr. Keisuke paused for a minute before he forgot to mention one last thought. "Also, since he doesn't know you're coming, and he thinks that he's the only one down there, there's a chance that he might not believe that you're real; he _may _think that you're only a hallucination."

Ranma rolled his eyes, upwards this time. "Great." (Like he isn't oblivious enough the way it is.) After that, Ranma, made his way to the entrance when he had overheard Dr. Keisuke.

"Have a safe trip."

Ranma turned for a minute, before they both waved by. Ranma, then claimed the ladder back outside to where the polite picked him up.

Nearby the Transantarctic Mountains, dark grey clouds covered the sky over his life. Tatewaki, saw the raining snowflakes that set gently, and silently, along the landmass. The waves of wind whispered in the cool air blowing snow around everywhere. Among the view, there were valley glaciers; which were shaped like long, giant tongues that spread out to sea along different pathways; and, there were piedmont glaciers; which spilled into the moderately, flat plains that spread out into bulb- like lobes. Furthermore, ice caps; which painted out like small ice- sheets; and not to mention, ice fields; influenced by topography. Last but not least, ice streams, and outlet glaciers; flowing faster, and outward.

Although, he was flattered by his surroundings something was missing. Something that Tatewaki couldn't even explain himself. The answers he were looking for, in this case, just weren't there. Not only the answers were gone, but so were those that he had left behind. Now there was no one.. nothing. No one to notice his absence. No one to question him. No one to worry about him. No one to console him. No one to care for him. No one to hear him. No one to miss him. No one to come for him. No one to try for him. No one to cry for him. No one to die for him. No one to think of him. No one to remember him. This gloomy, empty, lonely boy knew he had been forgotten long ago; slowly, vanishing before the worlds eyes; being replaced fading into whiteout..

Tatewaki, took self- pity among himself; he felt so.. useless, so.. hopeless; compared to a snowflake; the snowflake was more functional. What's worse, is how pathetic he felt for not telling anyone what he was doing, where he was going, or why. Disappointment consumed him to no end. Maybe if he did some things _here_, and said something thing _there_, then maybe he could've changed a few things; make _some_ kind of difference in his life. In spite of it all, he was nothing but petty, insignificant, meaningless.._nothing_; nothing like the empty vapid of a frozen, gravitational star. No, less. Even gravitational, black holes contain radioactive properties. This negligible man was simply nothing; absolutely nothing to the eyes of those he left behind.

On the edge of it all, there were many situations that left Tatewaki, hesitant, and stressed; doubtful, and tense. He was feeling unclear about where he was really going, and confused most of the time about what he was really doing. Most of the time he couldn't decided where he wanted to go, or what he wanted to do. This led the dejected man to become moody, and distraught; controlled by his icy bitter soul.

There were also many mishaps, misfortunes, among this mislead man. He toppled, and stumbled over the snow, he tripped, and fell over large hidden rock, and struggled, carrying his sled over small snow hills. Due to the conditions, and circumstances , he ended up wet, cold, and frozen; badly injured from it all. These unsettling matters eventually, made Tatewaki, drop to his knees onto the soft, white, frozen ice ground. (What's wrong with me?)

Tatewaki couldn't hide it anymore; he was miserable, but he didn't care. All he cared about was getting in, getting what he needed, and then getting right back. There were more important things on his mind; so important he was completely away in his thoughts until he heard a noise. It was sort of a honking noise; a noise he wasn't necessary expecting. Tatewaki, finally turned behind him to see a lonely, isolated, adolescent Emperor Penguin; just as isolated, and only as Antarctica, and himself as well. (Jinchou?...)

{AN: Jinchou, is Japanese of penguin.}

Tatewaki, studied the penguin for a minute before turned around with a shrug. (Oh well… it's just a penguin; it's probably out looking for food, or something.) After that, he got back up, and walked off when he heard the voice again. Tatewaki, sighed before he turned. "And what is it that you want?"

The penguin, started speaking to him again when Tatewaki, came to a pause. (Now wait a minute.. how did a penguin get all the way over here?) The penguin walked up closer to Tatewaki, before it stood there starting at him, eye to eye, before the adolescent jinchou started honking again; this time he _flapped_ his flightless _fins_. Tatewaki, just gawked at _him_. (What dost it want?) Tatewaki, blinked for a minute in thought. Maybe it's hungry, maybe it wants some fish.) Tatewaki, looked threw his sack. "Ugh, what am I thinking, I don't have any fish."

"Look I don't have anything to fed you, go home." After that Tatewaki, walked away from penguin once more when the penguin started to fallow him.

There was a moment of peaceful silence until a particular suspicious feeling had hit Tatewaki. This made Tatewaki, turn around to see the flightless, marine bird behind him.

"Shoo, I say; go away."

The bird only honked, and squawked a more loudly that time.

"Ugh, thou should'st had not left thy home in the first place," Tatewaki, continue talking, mainly about himself. "What drove ye to come all the way out here of all places?" Tatewaki froze at another though. "Maybe ye art just like me." After that, Tatewaki, lowered himself to the penguin. "Thou art confused about a guy too; aren't you?"

The penguin, on other hand, just honked again without really understanding what Tatewaki's was actually saying.

After that, Tatewaki, sighed aside the aquatic, flightless bird. "You can stay; I don't know what to fed you though?"

Tatewaki, started to put up his yellow, Himalaya tent for the _night_ when his thoughts continued onward from his previous conversation; the one he had with the penguin. The penguin circled around it watching him. Once Tatewaki was done he turned to the bird with one last final thought. "Maybe I shall call ye Jin..short for Jinchou." Tatewaki, was about to enter his tent when he saw the sad marine bird, _who never had to fly south for the winter _laying there next his tent. Tatewaki, sighed feeling bad leaving the penguin by itself without any food. (Okay, what to do.. what to do?..) Tatewaki went back into his tent to find any source of _primary _food; any food that he could give to the bird. No sooner or later, Tatewaki, found protein bar, and had pulled out. "Ha-ha, I got something!"

Another thought hit when Tatewaki, realized that he was apparently, not thinking straight. "Ugh.. birds don't eat protein bars." Tatewaki, continued to look around when he saw the drill. Just then something came back to him; something he said to Dr. Keisuke_. "I didn't come this way just to go ice-fishing you know."_ (How am I going to find a lake around here. The only lake I know of is Lake Fryxell, and that's days from here.) Tatewaki, sighed. (Well, I guess that got me farther not.)

Tatewaki, finally came out with a small bowl of water, and placed it down by the penguin. "This is all I have for now, Jin."

The penguin drank the whole thing before it had honked, and squawked for more. After Tatewaki, gave into giving him more, the marine bird soon was soon asleep at the side of Tatewaki's tent, full, and satisfied. Tatewaki, yawned as well. "I better get some sleep myself."

Ironically enough, due to weather conditions the helicopter ended up dropping Ranma, off in an area nearby the Transantarctic Mountains; around the same area Tatewaki, was at. To Ranma's eyes however, it was the middle of plain- _white_ nowhere. Heading closer to the Transantarctic Mountain Range, Ranma, wondered around, and about; checking out different cave sites, and glacial areas thinking of where he might find Tatewaki.

Hours later, fallowing Tatewaki's path without notice, Ranma's electronic tracker; the one that was on his handheld transceiver, had finally turned green. Ranma froze for a moment as his eyes widened when they had attached themselves onto the green light. (So Kuno, is really here?) Ranma, simply traced the green light when he had hit different spots that were _cooler_, or _wormer_. Once he realized where the light was taking him, he simply headed the same way. No sooner, or later, Ranma paused at the site footprints (So he's around here somewhere.) Ranma started walking down the foot- printed path with careful conscience; he ultimately, in the end, had reached the spot. He slowly made his way, walking along the footprints to see the penguin that was asleep next to _a_ dark yellow tent.

Tatewaki unzipped his tent, stepped out, and looked around when he finally came to a sudden pause. Tatewaki blinked his tired eyes when he distinctively saw a face he never thought he would see again. Tatewaki then rubbed his eyes trying to wake himself up. (No way.)

Tatewaki steeped back before he looked away. (Okay, this isn't the first path that had deceived my eyes like so. This place must be playing tricks on my mind.) After that, he turned back to see that one very person still standing there. (No..) Tatewaki shook his head in despair. (There's no way he wouldst hast come all this way..) He looked aside in gloominess. (Not for me.. no way..) His eyes fixed back on the last person he expected to see. (I mean why else would he be here?) Then his cold bolt eyes widened with the most anticipated answer. (Innless... he's not real). Tatewaki finally left his spot when he gradually walked along the snowy, glacial area; his eyes never left the _still-_ standing boy.

Tatewaki silently, and slowly, approached the so- called hallucination leaving his footprint- tracks in the snow. They both stared at one another as if it was a lifetime. By this point Tatewaki didn't care; tears streamed down his eyes; not just because of his mind-bottling state, but the state of relief that someone was with him; and not just anyone, but the one he came down here for in the first place.

Tatewaki, embraced Ranma's face with his hands as he continued to caress his face in disbelief, and astonishment. (Is it really him?)

Ranma, eyed him awkwardly before he sighed. "Ugh.. you idiot. I'm real, okay. You don't need to make a deal about it."

More tears poured down Tatewaki's face, before he threw his arms around Ranma, while he cried on his shoulders.

Ranma's eyes flew wide open in apprehensive shock, as he constrained himself frozen, stiffed. (Oh boy.) His eyes shot out a long, stunned, petrified gaze when he twitched, and fidgeted in embarrassment; he cringed in disgust, winced in distaste, as well as shuddered, and squirmed out of stress, and tension. Subsequently, he looked back, and forth when he finally realize that no one was screaming at him; no one was attacking him; no one came to mallet him, and no one was around to accuse him. Last but not least, no one was there to blame him; not for anything. No one was there.. except for that one boy who was holding him, in tears, and in absolute silence. Ranma, studied the matched-weather boy with unexpected sympathy, and consideration. Ranma, rigid, timid, and tentative soon found himself wrapping his arms around the gloomy boy, hugging him back.

Imaginary, or not, illusive, or not, once Tatewaki, finally realize who he was hugging of all people his eyes widened in nervousness before he had quickly let go. Tatewaki, took a step back before he pierced a icy cold-hearted daggers from his eyes to Ranma's.

"You're not supposed to be here!"

Ranma scowled as he glowered. "Well you aren't suppose to take off!"

"Leave Saotome."

"Not until you tell me what you're doing here." Ranma nailed down frustrated.

Tatewaki narrowed his sharp eyes back at Ranma, in a nasty bitter tone."I tell you nothing."

"Tell me Kuno, just what the hell possessed you to come all the way down here to Antarctica, of all placeless? You took off without saying a word!"

Tatewaki held his voice in a strict tone. "I have nothing to say to you." Then he spat out his own query on suspicious edge."Tell me Saotome, what possessed you to come down all this way in the first place?"

"Ranma took a step towards Tatewaki."You were gone for a two whole months without a word to no one, and never came back; the least you can do is tell me what the hell is going on!"

Tatewaki atomically stepped back when his eyes turned sour. "I tell you nothing." With his intense, and overshadowing emotions holding him back he continued. "Thou art not suppose to be here in the first place. If I have had wanted you here I would have invited thee."

Ranma studied the panic- shattered, frosty- battered man; he let out a sigh when he remembered what Dr. Keisuke had told him. "Look, everyone down there is worried about you." Ranma handed Tatewaki, a hardened look. "Even me, Kuno." After that he pointed to himself. "So I promised everyone that I would come back for you; so I'm not leaving until I know I can take you back there nice, and safe..while you're still alive! Now tell me what you're doing here, and this time don't change the subject!"

Tatewaki fixed his eyes on Ranma, as he blinked in unnerved surprised. (He was worried about me?) After that, he moved his eyes aside to the shadows before he shook it off. (Impossible.)Tatewaki, jolted back again along with more nippy glares that were sent right back to Ranma."Fine, if thou wanna go back so badly that's perfectly fine with me, because I'm coming not. It was difficult enough making it this far.. so get lost Saotome." Tatewaki expressed mildly.

Ranma look a closer look at the wounds, and buries on Tatewaki."Yeah, I can tell." Ranma pointed behind him as he stood there as he let out another sigh. (Man.. why does he always have to make things so difficult, and complicated all the time?) "Look, I came here looking for you. Now I found you, so let's just go on back already."

Tatewaki fixed a serious sneer of irony, across his face." 'Tis too late, Saotome. Once you're here you're stuck here until you finish out this route; which is all the way on the other side. Withal, it is the only flight back." Subsequently, Tatewaki, turned around, and started to walk off; only until he felt a hand that had caught his wrist. Tatewaki whipped around as he held himself back from going off the brink. "What is it Saotome?"

Ranma steeped back when a couple of thoughts had came to him."I mean... it's not _us_ is it? Are we really that horrible towards you? Is it _us_, Kuno? Did _we_ do something to you?"

Tatewaki handed Ranma, the most awkward look on the planet. "What art ye talking about?"

"Is it me? Did _I_ chase you away from there?"

Tatewaki closed his eyes when he turned slightly turned his head away. "Control your ego; as if I ever run from you."

Ranma clenched his fingers as he grew more aggravated, and frustrated by the second. "Well, if it wasn't us then what made you come down here?"

Tatewaki dropped his head down to the deep, gloomy, shadows as he fought, and struggled through his intuition. A long silence approached before he replied. "I am to seek something; something that is nearly impossible to find. Something I never thought I wouldst be looking for; and the only way that I would ever be able to obtain it is if I finish my quest to the other side.. if it's even here; if I can find it that is."

"So you took off all the way to Antarctica to find something that might not even be there?" Ranma inquired in riled expression.

Tatewaki turned to Ranma, to see that Ranma, still a hold of his wrist; he ripped it away in panic."How did you find me, so fast in the first place?"

"This." Ranma picked out the transceiver along with the electronic tracker that was attached to it. "The old man handed it to me before I left; they flew me all the way out here in this crazy weather... and all just to look for you."

Tatewaki eyes flew wide open when he jolted up startled, panic- stricken. (old man!?) Tatewaki fixed his eyes on the transceiver when he had notice the electronic tracker; he froze back like radiation frost in incredulity. (Is that what I think it is?) Tatewaki stood there stiff on the edge."I see.." Under unsettled pressure, he twitched in restlessness...so, I take it that ye hast meet Dr. Keisuke?"

"Talk about the scientist who won't tell me anything, and doesn't have a clue about nothin'; at least for someone who seems to think he knows you better than what I do."

Tatewaki looked straight at Ranma, with a nervy, stare, grim. "What's that suppose to mean!?"

"_If he had any brains,_ he wouldn't have let you hiked up a bunch of mountains in a place like this, all by yourself. _If he knew you so well_ he wouldn't have sent you all the way out here to begin with." Ranma looked up before he started counting with his fingers. "Let see… you are careless, sloppy, and as much as a klutz as Akane. You could seriously get hurt out here, moron; and if you had there would be no one to rescue you, because no one knows you're here.. well maybe except for some old guy in poor health condition; but did you honestly think that he would've came all this way to help you if you needed it. Are you trying to get yourself killed? Where you just not thinking, or were you born that way!?"

Tatewaki's eyes atomically, expanded open; stunned for a moment; he quickly turned back around with his hand to his heart.

"What did I say?" Ranma, started questioning. "Don't tell me that I had hurt you?"

No comment.

Ranma eyed Tatewaki, in confusion. "What's with you?"

Tatewaki swallowed in nervous stillness. "Nothing." He turned back to Ranma, with a question this time."Did he mention anything else?"

Ranma shrugged aside. "Not much else.. except; he kept on babbling about some legendary earthquake, and tsunami that made his crew crash into the ice. Then he went on talking about some lake, and a bunch currents that mixed all this water together, or something like that. Ranma tossed his eyes aside annoyed. "Then he mention that they all had eventually died-" Ranma paused before he started writing the myth himself. "- because they were all stupid enough to come out here looking for some dumb icicles.

"It's an ice crystal!" Tatewaki snapped, and scowled in vein; leaving a sensitive glower on Ranma. "Withal, if I were you, I for one wouldst not be calling the crystals I am seeking for, stupid."

"Well if they're so important then what are so important for? Why are you even looking for them in the first place? I mean, you come all this way; they must be significant for something?"

Silences hit for a minute when an important thought had came to Tatewaki. (From the way it sounds.. it sounds as if Dr. Keisuke, didn't tell him everything.) He let out a long, deep sigh in relief. (Good... that means he hasn't figured it out yet.)

"Something.. some-" Ranma thought back in curiosity until he caught on to Tatewaki, quite suspiciously. "Something tells me I don't have the whole story."

The guilty, vulnerable face on Tatewaki, stared right back at Ranma. "Not the way you're telling it.."

Ranma carefully studied Tatewaki, meddling in. "Is there something about those crystals I don't know about yet?"

No Answer.

This left Ranma snooping around, feeding off answers by Tatewaki's silence. "So if he didn't die..they found something by experimenting with those crystals; didn't they?"

No Comment.

Ranma grumbled aside before he got up in his face again. "Didn't they?"

No Answer.

Ranma clenched his fist to his side yakking at him again. "Kuno!?"

Tatewaki strained his neck back aside turning his head toward the tent. "Go home Saotome."

"Not until you tell me what they've found, Kuno?"

"Wherefore so important to thee, huh?"

"You're the one whose making a big deal out of it!?" Ranma took a few steps closer to Tatewaki. "The point is.. I don't see what all of this has to do with you?"

"Thou art dost make such a point. This has nothing to do with myself."

"Then what are you doing all of this for in the first place then, huh? Ranma, paused for a minute before he continued. "What do you get out of it...money, a prize, a free trip.. well what?"

Tatewaki look down hopeless with a sadden frown across his face; he brought that looks up to Ranma, when he finally answered. "Maybe nothing."

Ranma sighed in frustration, and annoyance; he wasn't getting anywhere with Tatewaki. After that, he grabbed Tatewaki, by his jacket and started to shake him."Tell me before I force it out of you? Cause, I for one don't feel appreciated being lied too; especially when I'm all the way out here of all places chasing after your sorry ass."

Tatewaki, emotionally, disheartened, scowled harshly before he aimed his depressed glare right back on Ranma. "Hold it right there Saotome! Maybe if you made your own decisions for a while thou wouldst let it go. I Tatewaki Kuno, hath never ask ye to come, and had repeated over, and over, and time again-" Tatewaki pushed Ranma, off. "Go home!"

Ranma scowled in anger, and in more annoyance as he held one of his fist up to Tatewaki. "Are you ever gonna tell me what that is, or not!?"

Tatewaki stepped back in surprised; he was quite impressed on how persistent Ranma, could be. Without exposing anything much more, he added on a clue; a clue that would distract Ranma, enough to keep him away from the truth. "Thou wanna know what we need those crystals for?"

Ranma quickly nodded.

Tatewaki leaned in towards Ranma, thinking of an answer. "Something... rare."

Ranma blinked in curiosity. "Rare?"

Tatewaki nodded along carefully. "Really rare."After that Tatewaki, sighed hopeless again. "Then again, what's suppose to be in those ice crystals may not even be there."

Ranma this time leaned in towards Tatewaki, with a odd narrow. "Rare as in..." Ranma, tossed his aside in thought before he continued. "So, you came all the down here for some artifact?"

"Of course not." "Well it looks like I'm gonna eventually find out anyway, so you miles will tell me what you two are looking for that's inside those ice crystals."

"That's for I Tatewaki Kuno, to know, and for thee to find out," Tatewaki paused aside, before he made another retort. "That is of course, if ye couldst make it through these mountains first."

"Well I think if I have to go through all of _this_ because of you, I think I should have the right to know what you two need those ice crystals for?"

Tatewaki took a step back. "What makes thee think that ye couldst hold such above I; especially when I have not invited you so."

Ranma escalated up at him."Why can't you just tell me the truth?"

Tatewaki hunched over before he questioned back. "Why can't you just let it go?"

Head towards head, eye to eye, they both got wrapped into a mean starting contest; Tatewaki simply closed his eyes as he slipped out."Enough, I'm going to bed."After that he turned, and finally walked off back into the tent.

Ranma just stood there still as he blinked a few times, and had finally fallowed Tatewaki, leaving his own tracks through the snow into the tent. Tatewaki was already in his sleeping bag when he overheard a voice.

"You know, there's a penguin outside your tent?"

"I acknowledge that."

Ranma sat down before he quickly changed the subject. "What were you doing the first two months while you were gone?"

Tatewaki sighed depressed before he rolled away from Ranma. "I know where thou art going with this. Drop it."

"Can you just give me a hint?" Ranma queried once more.

Tatewaki shook it off with another sigh; he sat up facing Ranma. "Trying to find this place." After that, he handed out a sleepy gear. "Now if thou mind not for I Tatewaki Kuno, need to obtain some rest. I have a big day tomorrow, and I am not going to have thee hold me back," his glare deepened. "So get some sleep, or get out of here."

Ranma let out a breath knowing that Tatewaki, had made a good point. He finally got his sleeping bag ready before he finally drifted off the sleep. Tatewaki lie their awake due to his mind-bottling thoughts, and his emotional melancholy. (I gave up everything just to come here for him..for him; not to mention to clear my head. I try so hard not to think of him.) Tatewaki let out a long sigh before he turned to Ranma. (Yet, there he is. I feel him next to me, but I'm lonely, I'm cold, and he's not real.) Tatewaki turned his head back to the top of the tent when more disheartened thoughts had hit. (If it wasn't for this cure I wouldn't have left without him. I hate living without him; and I hate hiding from him; for only feels like I'm slowly losing him.)

Tatewaki sat up with an idea. (Then again, real or not, I gotta find a way to get away from him.) Tatewaki got out of his sleeping bag when he had noticed a green light from Ranma's sack. (Damn it.. I forgot about his electronic tracker.. what was Dr. Keisuke thinking giving that to him? Tatewaki walked up closer to Ranma's pack when he had caught notice of Ranma's file. (I guess this would give him a good chance to see if there's anything in here; to see what he really knows.)

With nothing much else to find he took off Ranma's electronic tracker along with the file. (If I take his electronic tracker, and escape he won't be able to find me; which means he won't be able to question me, pressure me, or trick me into telling him the truth. I can come back for the tent. I just have to escape; so when he does come looking for me, I willst already be long gone.) Going through with the plan, Tatewaki, started to pack up his things when he heard a tired voice.

"Trying to escape?"

Tatewaki, froze, before he turned to the sleepy eyed boy. "Er.. you're just dreaming... go back to sleep."

Ranma blinked before he fixed his eyes on Tatewaki."How could I be dreaming if I'm awake, stupid?" Then he saw his things in Tatewaki's hands."Hey, what are you doing with my file on my tracker, huh?

"Leaving with it, so thou fallow I not," Tatewaki was about to leave until he tripped over something. The minute he turned behind him, Ranma jumped on him, and held him down.

"I don't think so!"

"Saotome!"

"Give them back!"

"No!"

"Hand them over!"

"Not on your life!"

"Kuno!"

"Get off!"

At this point Tatewaki, was on his back, face to face with Ranma. Tatewaki had his hands on Ranma's file, and electronic tracker above his head. All at the same time, Ranma, had over his hands around Tatewaki's waist before he pulled out one hand in a fist; he held it up in the air, aiming downwards towards Tatewaki.

"Drop them!"

"Not in your lifetime!"

Right then and there, Ranma, laid a hard one on Tatewaki's left cheek.

Tatewaki hissed a flinched in pain making him let out of the electronic tracker. The minute Ranma, got it back, he sat up, and snatched the file out of Tatewaki's other hand before he got off. "Don't think you're taking off without me, or with my stuff, got it!?"

Tatewaki finally sat up, as he clenched his own fist in thought. (Damn it.. now what am I gonna do?)

"It's not like you were really gonna make it very far without your tent," Ranma, declared making his point.

Tatewaki turned right at Ranma, with a dim glare. "Once you got lost I was going come back for it. Dost ye honestly think that I Tatewaki Kuno, art so stupid?"

"I think taking off _all the way to Antarctica_, in the first place, was pretty stupid of you."

"Enough!" Tatewaki declared as he made it back to his spot.

For the rest of the night, Tatewaki, and Ranma, sat on their heated sleeping bags watching each other with very intent looks.


	4. Transantarctic Onward To South Pole

Chapter Three: Transantarctic Mountains Onward: Igloo of South Polar Plateau!

Antarctica is a place like no other. It is a beautiful, fantastic place; it is no other then absolutely amazing. It's mysterious, dreamlike, and otherworldly; it's a place filled with wonder, and is rather eye-catching. This place; it's deep; it's meaningful, and coded with a pleasant tone, abidance, and quality. This exotic place, is filled with adventures no one ever dreamed of. Although dangerous, risky, and the coldest place on earth; this alone, only made the adventure, and experience a lot more challenging, and thrilling. This is exactly what brings people, from all over the world, here to this very miraculous place.

Despite all the glacially, harsh climate; Antarctica is no other then a place beyond compare; and could end up having the most stunning, dazzling mornings such as this one. The thick dark- grey clouds have faded only leaving white, and light- grey, puffy, and fluffy, clouds. Clouds that had overlapped the ice-white sky; as the blue sections where covered behind them in the shadows. The vast, spread out distance from this ice-shelf, displayed glistering snow as it twinkled, and shimmered in its luminous radiation.

The rays, and waves of the suns energy continued to radiate the landmass, and ice shelves. The glazing, white, clear, transparent ice moved on, and on; it cracked, and melted as this slippery ice slipped away. The vast ices transformed into different forms, and shapes; all to create different areas of the glacial land. From ice shelves to ice bergs; from ice sheets to ice caps; from ice fields to streams, and outlets. From glacial, and sea ice; and the ice itself; making different views, and sceneries throughout this extraordinary land.

Antarctica, is quiet, solo, and isolated, but peaceful, and sound... if only it could stay that way.

"Ranma Saotome!?"

Ranma jumped, before he turned around standing up, with Tatewaki's file in his hand. "Ugh! Kuno!" He took a few steps back with an scared, yet, innocent look was written on his face. "Uh hey man, I just- I just-"

Tatewaki eyes expanded; the anxiety was killing him. He was the edge in panic. "Sao-tome."

Ranma handed Tatewaki, the most strangest look of puzzlement in the world.

Tatewaki dashed his eyes away into the dim, murky shadows. His whole body was numb; his voice was sad, and clam when he uttered his words. "Thou shalt have not."

Ranma handed more odd expressions out to Tatewaki. (What's his problem?) "Have not what? Read it? Because I haven't, yet..." His eyes, narrowed down at Tatewaki. "Thanks to you."

Tatewaki lifted up his head to Ranma, before he blinked in bewilderment. "So, what's stopping you now?"

Ranma just stared at Tatewaki, like he was the stupidest person on the planet. "Do you really expect me to read it right in front of you, so that you can try to stop me then." Ranma just glared down at Tatewaki. "I don't think so Kuno. If I'm gonna take a look at your file I want a good look at it."

"Curious to know what Dr. Keisuke, and I art keeping from ye," Tatewaki simply held out his hand for his file.

Ranma scowled in vein. "The answers clearly in that file, and I'm gonna get it if it's the last thing I do." Ranma shrugged aside. "Why else would you be hiding it from me?"

That hit Tatewaki, pretty hard. "Hate to leave you hanging Saotome, but not all of the answers are in that file."

Ranma blinked in thought clearly stumped. "There not?"

Tatewaki looked aside before he made his next statement. "Shows you how much you know."

Ranma shrugged aside with another query down the road. "Then what is it that you know that I don't know that's in your file?"

"Drop it Saotome."

Ranma scowled in vein. "Hey, I have the right to know."

Tatewaki tossed Ranma, a bitter grin in expression. "Akin to how ye went through my things?"

Ranma clenched both his fist back down by his sides. "Hey, you went my stuff."

"That was different."

"How so?" "Thou art suppose acknown not so."

"Like I wouldn't have found out?"

"Handover Saotome!"

Ranma lowered his brow before he took another step back. "No way!" Tatewaki narrowed back with an idea planted in his head. "Then I guess I got no choice then..." After that he went for it, and failed time, and time again.

Ranma moved the file from his right hand to his left, and then brought them both above his head; from there, he lowered the file back this left side before he duck away from Tatewaki's reach. Ranma, ran for the tin cylinder when he placed the file back inside. At last Ranma turned to Tatewaki. "Ah! As if you could really stop me."

Tatewaki just then, noticed another tin cylinder that was on the other side of the room; the very one that had Ranma's file in it. In spite of this, Ranma, had caught on in the process. "What's so important about my file anyway? If anything, you're the one that has all the information."

"I am sure there are plenty of ways on how your file will benefit me," Tatewaki expressed holding his ground.

"Oh yeah! Like in what kind of ways?"

"Ah! As if I Tatewaki Kuno, shall ever tell you," Tatewaki, knew better then to go for it, and decided to drop the plan. Afterwards, Tatewaki, went through some his own things when he pull out some cooking tools.

Once breakfast was done Tatewaki turned to see a starving Ranma, behind him. Reading his expression clearly well, Tatewaki, pull out an extra plate, and put some food on it; at last he turned to give it to Ranma. "You want this?"

Ranma just eyed the plate as he nodded his head.

Tatewaki brought the plate closer to Ranma. "I'll let he have this delicious, scrumptious meal on one condition-"

Ranma caught on quite quickly. "Look, I ain't handed it over to you pal!"

Tatewaki took the plate back. "Then starve."

"Forget it, I'll make my own, thanks."

For the rest of the time, Tatewaki, and Ranma, sat down their sleeping bags face to face, exchanging suspicious looks at one another while they ate.

Ranma simply narrowed his brows at Tatewaki. "Do you really think I'm stupid enough to open _it_ right in front of you?"

"Exactly!"

Ranma fell over at Tatewaki's answer.

Tatewaki looked over to see Ranma, still lying there. "You alive?"

Ranma shot back up. "Of course I'm alive you idiot!"

Tatewaki pulled himself back when he caught a glance from Ranma. "What is it Saotome?"

Ranma tossed Tatewaki, a look. "So, where to next?"

"Thou art the one with the map?" Ranma picked up the tin cylinder before he sent Tatewaki, a look. "Oh, so you want me to open it then?"

Tatewaki scowled before he threw nervous looks at Ranma, on the edge again. "Of course not. I was just saying," then Tatewaki tossed his eyes aside."Besides, I have looked over that map well enough; I know where we're headed."

"Then where are we headed?"

"First hand file back to me then I shall gladly tell thee."

Ranma glowered right back in anger. "As if I'm gonna fall for that!" after that, he sneered off aside. "I'll just look at the map, and figure it out for myself; while I'm looking at the rest of your information."

Tatewaki finally got roped in. "All right! All right! We're taking the Shackleton Glacier of the Transantarctic Mountains to find a way to Lake Fryxell, okay."

"You mean that lake that you won't tell me nothin' about," Ranma spat out after.

Tatewaki just shook his head before got up, and put the fire out. At last his voice was mild but strong. "Let's get packing, and going; I for one wouldst not want be here all day you know."

Ranma stood up as he brushed himself off. "Humph..fine by me; the closer we get the more I know. I'll eventually know everything by the end of this trip."

Once everything was packed up from the inside, Tatewaki, sunk away Ranma's tin cylinder before they came out to see that the penguin had left. "Umm... I wonder where that penguin took off too?" Ranma questioned out mostly to himself.

"Ah, I guess Jin, must had found his way back to the Peninsula," Tatewaki stated in a deep, mild, dense voice.

"You gave it a name?"

Tatewaki shrugged it off. "It fallowed me here, and stayed by the side of my tent; for the most part I figure I would."

"So you didn't come all the way up here to live with a bunch of flightless birds?"

"Even ye should'st knowth what I am down here for?"

"Expect for the fact that I don't..or even know why exactly, because you won't tell me anything."

"I told ye enough," Tatewaki walked back to take the tent down. "So art ye going to get the other side or what?"

After they packed everything up they onward toward the Shackleton Glacier, of the Transantarctic Mountains. Walking down glacial pathway the two saw rocky hills, hanging glaciers, cirques glaciers, and bedrock collections spread throughout the icy snow. After an hour, or so, Tatewaki, had turned to see if Ranma, was still alive, or even still there at all. He saw the expression on Ranma's face; it was as if he wanted to say something to him. In spite of asking, Tatewaki, simply turned around. Within a few minutes, after the last hour, Tatewaki, turned around when a few strange thoughts hit him this time. (What's he so quiet for? Why hasn't he saith anything yet?) After that, he started to obtain more annoyed, pleading, and questioning looks from Ranma. Tatewaki let out a long sigh with his head down before he looked back up at Ranma. "Aye Saotome?"

"Are you ever going to tell me what you're keeping from me?" Tatewaki tossed a look of disbelief back. (I've should've known.) "You're the one with the file, art thee not?"

Ranma shrugged aside. "Oh come on Kuno... what's the point if you can just tell me."

Tatewaki looked away with hardened eyes."I shall never."

"Okay then, how about a clue?"

No answer.

"How about part of a clue?"

No comment.

Ranma closed his eyes before he turned away in irritated inpatients. "Can you at least give me something?" Tatewaki, turned to him. "You could guess, but I highly doubt ye wouldst get it right."

Ranma fumbled around with his hands in gesture , trying to think of what would fill in the blank. "Okay, umm.." Just then, he snapped his fingers before he finally answered. "A-ha, you're trying to receive some magical power in order to defeat me!"

Tatewaki in a long time, almost felt like falling over in laughter at the moment. Nevertheless, he just sent out a unreadable look over to Ranma, as he cleared his throat. "Ranma Saotome, I believe if I had wanted to obtain some kind of power to defeat thee, I would hast found a better way to do it."

Ranma traveled through his thoughts again before he scowled in vein."Don't tell me this is for Akane, or the Pigtailed girl? Cause, I wouldn't even know where to begin if you did."

Tatewaki simply sent him another look. "It's not at all what thy art thinking."

Ranma blinked in surprise. "Really?" He only continued. "Well okay, if not that then.." He glanced at Tatewaki, with his next guess. "You, and the doctor are going to sell whatever you find from those crystals."

Tatewaki lowered his brow as his eyes spit out a nightmare. "Nerima wouldst be left no more if that happened." Ranma didn't miss a beat. "Ah-Ha! So we do have something to do with it." Ranma shrugged aside."I guess that explains why you didn't invite anybody."

Tatewaki just narrowed at Ranma, in annoyance. "And guessing games are going to led ye anywhere not."

Ranma sighed getting tired of wondering. "Can you just tell me what inside those ice crystals already?

"No.. not on your-" Tatewaki came to a stop which made Ranma, stop as well.

"Why'd you stop? What's going- " The two boys just stood there in confusion when Ranma, finished. "-on?"

Tatewaki, and Ranma, found themselves standing by a edge of one of the very first crevasses they've encountered.

"Whoa..okay..." Ranma was taken aback; he was swept away in unbelievable shock."There's gotta be _some_ kind explanation for this."

More silence hit when Ranma, realized that Tatewaki, was a lot more quiet than usual. Gaining suspicion, Ranma, slowly turned to Tatewaki. "Now what way, huh genius?"

Tatewaki atomically went back to his sled before he pulled out some hooks, ropes, and last but not least a harness. "I say we climb over it."

Ranma, on the other hand atomically snapped right up at Tatewaki. "Climb over it! What if we fall through it? There's nothing down here? Are you trying to get us killed!?"

Tatewaki sat down, and took his pack off. "You'll need to_ lose_ your pack, and leave everything else on this side."

"Are you crazy? I'm not leaving my stuff behind; you'll just take off with _your_ file!"

"Well thou hast no other choice; you'll have to leave them here until you get to the other side. The extra weight might trigger for more ice to crack, and fall through crevasse." Tatewaki, sat everything up, and tied everything down; he turned right to Ranma.

"You first."

Ranma turned to Tatewaki, in disbelief before he socked him."Only in your dreams frosty head; you go first."

"So ye hast the chance to get into my stuff, and read my file; I Tatewaki Kuno, think not." Then Tatewaki, pointed something out rather fairly. "Withal, who knows when we'll end up crossing another one. Consider as the challenge Saotome; this will be good practice."

Ranma eyed Tatewaki, in irritation, and suspicion. "Ugh.. alright I get your point… I'll go down first. It's not like it's a challenge trying to get it back from you anyway."

Tatewaki cleared his throat. "Good. Now, that we're clear on things let's get started."

Tatewaki _led _Ranma, over with the rope with safe communication calls along the way.

"I'm over! You can stop now!" Ranma called out on the other side.

"Very well then," Tatewaki called back; he started gathering up everything to be sent over; that's when he noticed he had Ranma's pack he withheld in his hands. With an idea, and opportunity ahead, Tatewaki, took out Ranma's tin cylinder; the one he took before. (I knew this would eventually come in handy.) After that, Tatewaki, quickly swapped out their tin cylinders. (There... the way it's supposed to be... I just have to keep acting like Ranma, has my file.)

Tatewaki eventually meet Ranma, on the other side; they re-gather their things when Tatewaki, saw Ranma, checking his pack. Tatewaki, gave Ranma, a look. "See it's still there." Ranma eyed Tatewaki, for a moment to his pack, and once again back to Tatewaki. Ranma blinked as he starched his head in confusion. "Huh?" (Something isn't adding up here.)

Step after step; leaving footprint after footprint Tatewaki, and Ranma, walked on, and on along the main Shackleton Glacier. After the small talks, interrogations, fights, and chases for their tin cylinders things had gradually begin to settle down. Little did they know what was in ahead of them.

The two boys came to a pause when they came across a fork in the glacial snow; they stood there staring at the three forked pathways in complete confusion, and bewilderment. One pathway continued the Shackleton Glacier direction, the seconded, headed off in the Zaneveld Glacier direction, and the small, last one headed toward the Cumulus Hills.

Ranma eyed the fork before he turn to Tatewaki. "Is this our turn off?"

"I- I don't know.. it could be," Tatewaki shrugged with a determined look on his face. "As long as one of them lead to Lake Fryxell it willst matter not." "So, which path do we take?"

"How about you go one way, and I'll go the other," Tatewaki, suggest at first.

Ranma wore an evil grin on his face. "Okay."After that, he started to walk off until he overheard Tatewaki's voice.

"Not so fast!"

Ranma paused with one leg in the air.

Tatewaki leaned his head aside as he closed his eyes and held out one finger."I clearly see what thou art trying to do; and I for one, am not to fall for it.

Ranma dropped his head. (Sure, he catches on to that of all things.)

Hours later, the two boys made it to the end of the Shackleton pathway; the very one that took them to the end of the fork; the very same fork that had entered into another path; a path of high, flat, thick ice sheet of glacial land; a frozen terrain they'd never seen before. It was a white, frozen landscape which centered at the latitude of twenty- seven, south, and twenty- six, east. It spread out throughout a forty-thousand kilometer (sixteen-thousand square mile) area. Not to mention, a diameter of one-thousand kilometers (two-hundred, and sixty miles). Last but not least, an elevation of three-thousand meters (nine-thousand, and eight hundred feet.)

The grey, and white clouds started to clear; only leaving only a few left along with the light fog, and mist that had scatted the vast surroundings. The haze had blocked parts of radiated sunlight; which covered the light- to dark-blue sky, and imprinted shadows within each layer of the icy- white, sparkling snow that had been tossed by fung.

Tatewaki, and Ranma, looked around in silence; in nothing but complete silence.

Nothing...

There was absolutely nothing.

Nothing.. but silence.

The moment created a tranquil ambiance, and a mystified impression; an insight of a bizarre dream world; as if the two walked into an otherworldly dimension. In spite of it all fantastic calmness, this moment eventually came to an end.

Ranma turned to Tatewaki, with an unreadable expression across his face. "Now which way do we go?"

Tatewaki shrugged, and blinked scanning out the area. "I'm- I'm not sure."

Ranma turned behind him, and fallow the pathway's end. "We are running out of mountain; are you sure we're going to right way?"

Tatewaki continued to scrutinize the area when his thoughts reminded him something Dr. Keisuke, had told him. (There are areas out there that are so vast, so illusive, so disoriented that it's bewilderly upsetting; Far more then perplexed mirages, illusions, delusions, and hallucinations, will come. This place messes with mind, senses, and body; making you feel delirious.) Tatewaki, simply turned away from Ranma, before he pulled out the map out; everything grew quiet again.

Ranma stood there as he tossed questioning looks at the still- standing map reader. "Uh..Kuno?" Ranma, stepped closer to him before as he leaned in sideways."What's wrong?"

Tatewaki simply blinked without an answer.

Ranma stood there studying Tatewaki, now in suspicion. Subsequently, he jumped in front of Tatewaki, as he leaned in toward him, and the map."Hey, I thought you said you weren't gonna snoop through my stuff?"

Tatewaki simply turned to Ranma, along with the map, and in a stern ,crestfallen stare."I clearly stated that it was still there. I never saith that I have touched it not. I only got the map, because I don't want you to get it, or my file. 'Tis not as if I went through your file; it was my tube I picked up after all."

Ranma eyed him this time with deep distrust, and bitterness. "I guess- you have a point there." (Knew he was up to something..) "So..where we exactly?"

"We're lost."

"Lost?"

"Really lost."

"How did we get lost? I thought we were going the right way; I thought we were on the right track?" Ranma questioned out in confusion.

"So did I!"

"Well doesn't the map say where we are?"

"The only place it points to from the Transantarctic Mountains, is the South Pole." Tatewaki held the map up to Ranma. "If we came from the Ross Ice Shelf, and had already past the Shackleton Glacier… then that means we aren't at the Shackleton Glacier anymore; in fact there isn't anything here anymore.. nothing; which means we're so far off the grid I don't think we can even get back."

Ranma jumped right to it. "Hey, you were the one that told me that you knew your way without it."

"I do, but only in the direction that it was taking me in." Tatewaki, held back reclaiming his defense."According to the map, we were suppose to turn before we hit that fork, and possibly even before that crevasse, but I didn't see any major, clear paths going directly east."

"You didn't see any earthier?"

Tatewaki shook his head as Ranma, let out a long sigh. Tatewaki just looked, up, and down, and all around before he spoke his thoughts. "It's this place; it must already had most of the paths blocked off."

Ranma blinked in confused interest. "How?"

"From last winter.. maybe; how should I know?" Tatewaki, pushed in snippy.

"Well if it's blocking paths how are we going to get to that lake?" Ranma asked in fed up aggression.

Tatewaki flipped the map upside down. "Hey, wait a minute..we're going backwards?

Ranma didn't miss a beat taken aback. "Backwards? How are we going backwards?"

"We're heading south- east when we should heading north-east," Tatewaki, explained in short.

"You don't know how to read a map, do you?"

"Not ones, where you have to flip them upside down; it had me going north!" Tatewaki, countered back, in snappish bitterness.

Ranma put his fingers to his forehead as if he had a migraine. "Well, how far are we from the lake?"

"Lake Fryxell is north- east, from here."

"And we're south someplace off from that glacier?" Ranma, heating up to his point.

"Somewhere around there," Tatewaki shrugged aside.

"Don't tell me-" Ranma, ripped the map out of his hands. "Hey! That's all the way on the other side... Ugh! Kuno, I'm gonna kill you! Rama, whacked him to get the map. "I swear, you're sense of directions are worse than Ryoga's."

{AN: Not really, just a figure of speech.}

"My sense of direction is perfectly fine! I'm not the one who makes upside-down maps!" Tatewaki retorted back.

"Here we are out in the middle of nowhere, in a completely different area then what we're supposed to be at, and you mean to stand there, and tell me that we're so lost that we can't find out way back? After we've came all this way!?...I swear it's as if you want to get me lost out here just so you can take a look at my file.."

"I say by this point it's wise we go back, and try to find that path again," Tatewaki wisely suggested.

"What? No way! We just came from there. I'm nothing walking all the way back, just to find some stupid path, we may never be able to find; if we don't end up on another path that would end up making us more lost."

"So ye rather walk in the middle of nowhere of this plateau instead?"

Ranma then dropped it. "Uh..forget it…I say we just keep walking until we bump into something."

Tatewaki was about "Fine."All right. Let's just go."

Two weeks later, the two kept on dragging their feet on and on; feeling as if they were stranded in the middle of plain _oblivion_ nowhere.

"Ugh.. I swear this is taking forever. We're probably even more lost then where we started. It's already been a month, and we haven't gotten nowhere!" Ranma, shouted out in hostile aggravation."

"What's more, is that I can't tell which way is South, East, North, or West anymore," Tatewaki spoke in dull agreement.

"If we would have went back we wouldn't be in this mess right now."

Ranma clenched his hands to his sides before he responded in protest. "If you hadn't come down here, in the first place, this wouldn't be happening at all!"

Tatewaki, stopped, and turned to Ranma, before he snapped back. "You didn't have to force yourself to come!"

"You weren't suppose to be here in the from the start!"

"Thou art suppose to find me not; for as I am concerned you don't even exist!"

"Well you don't think I'm _real_ then what's the problem with me reading your file!?"

"Never Saotome!" Tatewaki snapped out on the edge when he _recalled_ what he did."What would be the point of looking at it at all? After all, thou aren't really here to begin with; hence, drop it so we can move on."

Ranma let out a long out sigh with his head down, and just walked on in agreement. Their long- distance walk continued; each foot step covered ice, ice, and beyond that, even more ice; ice that was moving through the thick massive ice sheet covered landmass. By this time Ranma, was deep in his own thoughts. (There's gotta be a way that I'll be able to find out what's in that file of his. What is the big deal with he's file anyway? I mean, what could be so important about a bunch of stupid ice crystals?)

The wind gradually picked up at the speed of eighty knots, and the wind-chill spiked up at forty degrees. These cryo-frigid winds blew snow all across the Polar Plateau. The temperate dropped below sixty as light snow, and hail fell from the dark, grey clouds; the very clouds which were covered beyond the horizon making the sky look darker, and darker. Due this extreme weather, it made it harder for the two to walk on. The two of them knew that they were eventually going to have to stop.

With the option in mind, Ranma started off stargazing different ideas on how to obtain the tin cylinder from Tatewaki. (All I need to do, is find a way to distract him; but what could I possibly distract him with; especially when we're all the in the middle of nowhere in this snowstorm of all things?) Ranma studied the area looking any clue, or hint to pop out at him. (Something shocking, yet believable enough in Antarctica that I can distract him with. (Something...) He looked left. (Something..) He looked right. (Something..) He looked at the falling snow when the answer finally came to him. (That's it!)

Ranma ran in front of Tatewaki, pointing to a place behind him. "Hey Kuno, look over there;-"

Tatewaki lifted his brow to Ranma, in confusion at first. "Wha-" He turned when he overheard the next thing Ranma, had said.

"-a polar bear!" Ranma called out aiming for success.

Tatewaki simply turned back when he narrowed at Ranma, as if he were the stupidest person in all the polar regions.

"What!? There is! Look behind you!" Tatewaki's face expression never changed.

Ranma froze in his spot again. (Huh? You mean..it's not working?)

"Dost really think that I am that mislead; that I am _that_ easily fooled? Dost ye really think I wouldst fall for thy plan to distract I into such trickery, and deceit; in order for ye to sneak out my file to take a quick glance at it? Tatewaki, inquired in skeptical, disbelief. Think again Saotome, for polar bears only live in the arctic, fool."

Ranma blinked in surprise. "Re- really... there's no polar bears over here?"

"Does this look like the arctic to you?"

"It doesn't looking like anything, but the arctic!"

"This is _the Ant_arctic!"

"And how is this place any different than from the arctic?"

"Polar bears live at the North Pole, and penguins live down here at the South Pole. And unless penguins art toxic to polar bears, there wouldst be not any left. Understand now Saotome; it's that simple?" Tatewaki explained in quick bitterness.

"So what's so special that's at South Pole, that's not at the North Pole?"

"What I am seeking isn't at the North Pole, it's at South-" Suddenly, Tatewaki froze like an icicle before Ranma, did. The two blinked in wonderment when they saw a red, and white shrilly pole in front of them that had a sliver ball shaped designed at the top; that's when Tatewaki had finally came to a finish. "-Pole."

The two exchanged look with each other before Ranma, blinked in shocking disbelief himself. "This wouldn't be-"

Tatewaki answered back in surprise. "It is indeed. "

"Out of all the places to wind up at; I never thought I would ever end up at the South Pole, of all things." Ranma stated in irony; right after, another thought spread through Ranma's mind. (Then again, stranger things have happened.)

"I still find it hard to believe we walked all this way, myself," Tatewaki simply stated after.

Regardless of the climate, Ranma, eagerly, observed the area in enthusiasm. "Hey, despite the weather this place isn't so bad."

Tatewaki watched him from a distance when a small grin appeared upon his face; yet, soon enough, he just shook his head along with a smirk before he called Ranma, over. "Come on Saotome, we need an igloo to stay in before it gets any worse out here."

Ranma walked back to Tatewaki, as he then viewed the area in question. "I don't see any igloo's around here?"

Tatewaki tossed him a shovel."That is exactly why we're building one." Ranma narrowed at him. "We're building an igloo.. in the middle of a sown storm?"

Tatewaki simply placed his shovel aside before he dug up a long rope, and two long, metal folded polls, out of his bag."We need someplace to stay in for the night, and I highly doubt thou wouldst want to be out here if it gets any worse."

After that, Ranma, sent out the next most obvious question. "Why can't we just use one of our tents?"

Tatewaki spread out the rope, and made a line that connected from their _igloo_, to their sleds, and finally to the South Pole itself, so they don't end up lost, or blown away. "This wind is too strong for our tents."

Ranma studied "I thought our tents were made for placeless like this."

Tatewaki tied everything down to the metal poles he had bought out; soon after he soon hoisted up his shovel once again."Not in this weather."

So, with that said, within the next ten minutes, Tatewaki, and Ranma, were off building an igloo; this time Ranma brought up a new topic that really wasn't so _new_.

"This wouldn't be happening if we weren't all the way at the South Pole, you know. If we were at Lake Fryxell, where we were supposed to be, we wouldn't be here building igloos."

"There's a first time for everything."

Ranma stopped shoveling, when he clenched the shovel in his hand. He glared upon Tatewaki; if no one was gonna do it, he was... at least thinking of knocking him out with his shovel, burying him with it, and then sneaking off with his file, afterwards.

"And why am I helping _you_ out with this again?"

Tatewaki snapped back with a good rounded responses. "I warned thee to get lost, now haven't I? It's thy fault for coming down all this way in the first place; last but not least, innless ye want to freeze, I highly suggest we finish."

"I thought you thought I wasn't real?" Ranma, cleared out in question.

"You're not!" Tatewaki quickly, jumped out in remark. Tatewaki stopped, and shrugged aside for a moment when his eyes were glued down at one of the snow blocks. "At least, I don't think thou art real?"

"Huh, funny how you think you're hallucinating _me_ of all people," Ranma mentioned, looking for a reason why.

"I am not hallucinating. I just know that there's no way the _real you_ would've came all the way down here looking for me."

"And what makes you think the fake one would?" Ranma taunted back in amusement. Tatewaki dropped his re-gained shovel down once again in defense; well at least a weak defense."Thou shalt stop asking questions, and shovel."

Ranma eyed Tatewaki, in suspicion when picked up his shovel, and started digging out more blocks when the questions resounded in his head. (Why am I the one he thinks he's _hallucinating_ in the first place? Why is it that he's not telling me anything even though he thinks I'm not really there? Is it because whatever he's keeping from me he can't even face himself of; or is it that he's feeling guilty for not telling me his secret? Is that why he's _hallucinating_ me..cause..cause he's afraid; afraid of what might happen if I ever found out what's in those crystals? Just what is it that he's afraid of that I might find out about?)

Things turned quiet as they continued to build their igloo together. After a few good frozen hours the two were finally done. The hard work, and dropping weather left the two exhausted, depleted, and fatigued; not to mention frost- like; analogous to frosty the snow man, jack frost, and one of those ice- sculptures from Hokkaido, Japan.

The sky was growing darker, and the wind was blowing at two-hundred knots with a wind-chill that had dropped down to eighty degrees below. All in all, Tatewaki was prepared.

"Come on, we're done let's get inside!" Tatewaki shouted out over the sound of wind before he tossed Ranma's side of the rope.

"Yeah all ri -" Ranma was about be blown off his feet when he caught the rope all until he felt a hand grab his."

"Don't let go!" Tatewaki advised aloud leading Ranma, with the rope.

Ranma blinked in some sort a confused surprise. "Huh?" Before he had the chance to think the two of them finally made it into the igloo.

Their side of the rope where eventually tied down within the igloo on hooks. Subsequently after that, the two went through their main bags before they took out everything they needed for the night. Once they were the done the two sat aside each other in silence.

Ranma's thoughts returned back to all of the questions he had in store for Tatewaki; yet, how to ask them in a way to get some actual answers back, was a different story.

Tatewaki's thoughts, on the other hand were as deep, solid, and mind- bottling; as lost, and far- away as some of the glacier caves here in Antarctica.

A voice suddenly broke Tatewaki's thoughts back to the frozen reality, or at least what Tatewaki, considered, or unconsidered what was reality. "Well it's certainly is wormer in here than what it is out there."

"It most certainly is so Saotome," Tatewaki, answered back in a slow, sad, low, solemn tone. He put his head down on his arms that were folded on top of his knees; he was lost in the depths of the gloomy dim shadows; someone who slowly grew back into his deep emotional, unenthusiastic, disconsolate state.

Ranma turned to Tatewaki, about to question him again until he remembered what Dr. Keisuke had said. ("Let's just say that Tatewaki's emotions, match the weather outside. So try not to be too hard on him once you see him.") Ranma simply pulled back in consideration. (Do I even try to ask him; it's not like he's gonna answer any of my questions; but I gotta find out what's going on?) Rather, somewhat worried himself, he gently placed his hand on Tatewaki's shoulder when closed in on him like a worm, protective blanket. "You okay there Kuno?"

Tatewaki's eyes shot wide open at first before he quickly turned his head the other way, slightly red. (He did not just- no way.. there is absolutely no way he would ever try to console me... especially like this; never mind coming down all the way to this frozen continent for me of all reasons. Not in a million years; it's just not possible, in fact it's completely out of the roam of extreme possibility.

The dispirited vibes, and the feelings of hopelessness, and uselessness shattered in his meaningless, heartbreaking, void. (He just simply doesn't care; not even to the extent of my own existence; even if he did, he still would never do such highly, impractical things...especially not for me; it would yet, still be out of reach of the extreme possibility.)

(Even now, if I told him the truth… he'd never believe me; he'd think I lost it for good, no doubt he'd take me seriously.) He felt as he'd been brushed aside, dejected, dismiss in every way imaginable. His vapid misery slowly ate him up, inhelplessness. (I'm too stupid, and insignificant for his attention. I'm not worth his time, or his worries, or his interest, or his life, or anything of his... I am absolutely worth nothing to him, nothing.. absolutely nothing.)

Ranma, lifted his brow relatively confused."Huh.. Kuno?"

Tatewaki didn't move; he couldn't move; he couldn't even breath.

Ranma, shook him a little. "Kuno?"

Tatewaki snapped out his thoughts before he turned to Ranma. "I give thee my apology, for I have a lot on my mind."

"Well cut it out man, you're starting to scare me-" Ranma's own old thoughts came upon him when he switched the subject. "Thinking about what?"

Tatewaki's eyes were glued to Ranma's, along with a crestfallen frown that was glued to his face. His voice was firm, and sound, mild, and clam, gentle, and soft. "Tell me you'll listen."

Ranma, blinked in somewhat of a surprise. "Huh?" (He actually wants me to listen to him; is he actually being serious, or has he _completely_ lost his mind?) After that, Ranma, only narrowed at him with his eyes. "Although you believe I'm not real?"

Tatewaki, clenched his hands together before he raised his voice. "Willst ye just hear me out!? As if it really matters? Fake or not, even I need someone to talk to at times," Tatewaki, threw his eyes off Ranma, with a shrug. "Withal, thou art the only one here; real or not."

Ranma turned his head aside before he let out a small breath."Humph." (In this case, maybe this will give me the chance to finally get some answers out of him. If not, then there'll have to be some way around to get the answers I want.)

Tatewaki, looked down as a serious frown was read from his face. "I hate feeling like this." Tatewaki, looked up at Ranma with nothing but the truth in his eyes. "I hate the fact that you're here." Tatewaki swallowed before he eyes drifted to the side."Thou should have came not."

Ranma eye's just dropped before him in lost confusion. (Huh? What's the heck is he talking about?) "What do you mean _you hate me being here_? You really think I'm _that_ horrible towards you?"

Tatewaki's eyes were soon attached back onto Ranma's. "I donno what possessed you to take the chance, and risk everything you had to come all the way down here; I'm only tearing everything apart, and messing everything up. Saotome, dost yet ever think twice before coming down here?" Tatewaki, finally got to his point only discouraged, and disappointed within himself. "What if I don't succeed? What if I fail? What if I can't find what I'm looking for? What if I don't find it? What if all this searching isn't it worth it in the end? What if ye came down all this way for nothing!? Is it worth the price to pay for you? Because I have nothing to lose."

Ranma was completely frozen still; he couldn't believe his own eyes. He had never seen Tatewaki, like _this_ before; it was as if he were the one hallucinating Tatewaki at the time. Ranma conjure up a new thought as he raised his brow in presumption. (Maybe all the cold as finally got to his head.) Despite all what Ranma, was going to say, he simply ask Tatewaki, something else. "Isn't this trip worth it to you? I mean, you're obviously on it for a reason right?"

"Weather I find those ice crystals or not, it matters not that I've left everything behind; you can't lose something you never had," Tatewaki answered; heading in somewhat of a different direction.

"It sure sounds like you don't wanna lose whatever is inside of those ice crystals," Ranma, commented out.

"Those ice crystals can't change the reason why I'm down here, or anything else," Tatewaki, finally cleared out.

"There's another reason why you're down here, and it's not just about the doc, or those ice crystals, isn't there? Isn't here?"

"I only came down here to see if the legend was true," Tatewaki added in rather upset at a moment.

"Tell it to the person whose hallucinating me, cause _they're_ feeling guilty for keeping some secret from me, cause _they _can't be man enough to face it. What is it that you're so afraid of if I find out what's in those ice crystals?"

This atomically put Tatewaki, on the edge of _South Polar Plateau_ . "Look, I know we have something to do with this; you implied it yourself. Besides I don't know what else to think, because you won't tell me anything!" Ranma simpered out aloud upset.

Tatewaki first bit down on his bottom lip before he pushed what Ranma, said aside. He rested his check in his hand that was on his knee before he turned away indifferent. "I'm going to bed."

Ranma held his fist out to him."Don't think you can get out of this like _this_ every time!"

Hours later, Tatewaki, and Ranma, were sleeping out storm when Tatewaki, awakened waking Ranma, up in the process.

Ranma, sat up tired. "What's going on Kuno?"

Tatewaki, noticed something he didn't think he would. "I think the storm stopped."

Tatewaki, and Ranma, exchanged looks before they both went outside. "Whoa!" Ranma stepped back a bit. "Well that escalated quickly."

The _night_ appeared before them with vast darkness beyond what the eye could see. Not only was it dark, it was beyond dark, extremely dark, as dark as the universal, gravitational black hole. The chilly pitch black sky was murky, heavy and thick with mist, fog, and haze. Even the snow itself. What use to be a bright, white world, turned into a dark, black lifeless unsustainable environment. Then again at this part of the environment, it was always unsustainable. If there was any light left, it only came from the dim stars, and masked moonlight; which only left shadowy shades among the faded white spots of the snow. However, the sunshine left the darkness outside, and in which didn't reflect any light.

Tatewaki's thoughts melted into in this thick, deep darkness as he studied the surrounding sky with unbeatable questions. (It's dark...it's too dark..how in the world could it be so dark?)Tatewaki folded in arms as he shivered. (It's cold..it's too cold.. way colder then it was before; I almost forgot how cold it could get.) "Well this is certainly different."

Ranma turned to Tatewaki. "How did it get so dark so fast?"

Tatewaki looked right at him."It's not suppose to get this dark yet; it's only December.

Ranma eyed Tatewaki, expressing his point. "But we're in Antarctica?"

"That's just it, winter doesn't starts until march in Antarctica."

"It doesn't?" Ranma questioned with a shrug. "It's seems to be winter all the time around here to me."

Tatewaki lifted out one finger making his point. "There's six months of daylight, and six months of polar night at the polar circles."

Then it hit Ranma, as with a avalanche could. "Wait a minute, you mean to tell me it's like this for six months starting in march!?"

Tatewaki calmly nodded along. "Aye."

Ranma escalated right up to Tatewaki, as he scowled fiercely, infuriated. "That means we only have two months to find whatever it is your looking for before winter comes, or otherwise we're gonna end up stuck here looking for it in the dark!"

"If we end wind up stuck here during the winter we won't be able to make it back until next summer, because nobody is going to want to fly out here then," Tatewaki, explain in full.

"Otherwise, that means that we're going to be stuck here all winter long!" Ranma fed up with it all, he finally clobbered Tatewaki, down over his head with his fist.

Tatewaki, rubbed his head when something suddenly appeared in the of the most darkest skies. Although, it only lasted for a second before it disappeared. It was almost as if it were a flash from a lightning bolt.

"Great now we're out here during a lighting storm. Way to go Kuno; get us electrocuted out here; as if you hadn't notice we're surround by water!"

"I never heard of it lightning in Antarctica; and if it does it rarely happens; and if it did, it would be a rare event such as this one," Tatewaki explained talking about the raven, jet black night.

The flash appeared again this time showing a green color.

Ranma twitched before he nervously stepped back. "Uuh..what was that?"

Tatewaki looked back at Ranma, with a icy, narrow stare. "Now that certainly wasn't lighting, Saotome."

Ranma jumped in front of him face to face this time. "Oh yeah, then what was it then, huh?"

Tatewaki, turned back to the midnight black sky, in careful consideration. (Was that what I thinkth it to be?)

Tatewaki, and Ranma, were soon both thrown off topic just when a Geomagnetic storm approached creating Aurora Australis, (a.k.a Antarctic Southern Lights), that illuminate the dark, night sky. They stood there as they watched the night light up like the fourth of July; yet the fourth of December. They saw the long, swirly, droopy, ruffled, curtain- like luminous plasma glowed, and diffused within seconds, changing, and rearranging into different forms of shapes, and colors; whether it be from Red, Green, or White from oxygen atoms at high altitudes, or from blue, purple, and violet from nitrogen atoms at lower altitudes. These ionically charged atoms never stopped as they shifted, and flowed; dancing across the sky, whistling, hissing, brisling, and swooshing around as they reflected their luminous _lunar rainbow_ glow on the snow; putting on a show for the night.

(It's quiet..too quiet, I can hear the auras echoing to me; I can hear them whispering to me in the night.) Tatewaki wasn't so far off of this one either; the ambience was still, quiet, and clam; what's more, firm, deep, and meaningful; it was dream-like, fantastic, strange, and exceptionally surreal.

For what they didn't know what was going on, on the other side. For what was on the other side however, was the sun; not only the sun, but a bright start which emitted radiation, plasma, particles, and other heavy atomic nuclei; fallowed by the solar wind that streams these particles; channeled by field lines before they are impacted with the magnetic field. Subsequently, a magnetic field that drew in, and trapped them in the magnetosphere; ending in the upper atmosphere. More so the place these excited ions start to lose their energy around the auroral zone; finally coloring the night sky. Last, but not least, appearing as wobbly ovals; circling around the magnetic polar circles, like a ring, a therapy group, or a snake tattoo.

The two felt far- away, enveloped, and engulfed by glow, as they gazed at the Antarctic Australis shuffling around, whistling, and swooshing at them throughout the night air.

Tatewaki, and Ranma, soon turned to each other with wonder in their own eyes; Tatewaki had later turned away with his eyes shut aimlessly, speaking to the atmosphere with his own thoughts. (Even while such a trilling even happening; here he is on my mind once again. Although, he's only in my mind I don't want him to leave me, or my mind. Despite all we've been through, I _still _wanna hold his hand in mine; for his eyes to meet mine._ Still_ I want to hold him worm in this cold-harsh environment. _Still _meethis every need; _still_ inspire, and console him when his down. Keep him safe, especially all the way out here of all placeless. Yet, in spite of this, I'm _still _cold, and alone, and _still_ confused about how I feel. Cure or not, real or not, there are some things that won't change, and that is my feelings for him. )

Tatewaki re-opened his eyes looking up at the _rainbow_ aurora one minute, then to Ranma, the next. (A world just for the two of us.) Last but not least, he re-turned back to the auroras once more. (If this is a dream.. I don't want to wake up from it.)


	5. Other Side Of Antarctica: Lake Fryxell

Chapter Four: The Other side of Antarctica:

Lake Fryxell! The intense sun brightened as it's sharp rays hit against the dazzling, bright, icy snow. Within the tent however, Tatewaki's eyes ventured awake before he sat up satisfied with the peace, and content with some happiness for once in his life. The other sleepy boy finally awoken from his red, Himalaya sleeping bag; _the one that came with his own yellow tent_.

Ranma simply turned towards Tatewaki, with a clear expression of confusion spread across his face. "We're lost in the middle nowhere; what are you so happy about?"

"We had peaceful night, for the first time in a long time; don't ruin it," Tatewaki griped back feeling shrivel, and dejected; it was too late, Ranma took the last bit of happiness out from him, and had ruined the moment.

"We what?" Ranma asked out at loss. "What are you talking about?" Right then Ranma, got to the point."You kept on blabbing about how stupid I was, for risking everything to come down here just to find something you're not even sure of finding yourself. All because you wanted to see if some legend was true; all because of stupid popsicle."

"Ice crystal!" Tatewaki put in clear.

Ranma, ignored him when he continued. "And when I finally do confront you about being all guilty, and afraid, and all that you decided to take off to bed; I don't see any of that adds up to a peaceful night."

"I'm talking about the part where we saw the Aurora Australis?"

"The what?"

"The Antarctic Lights."

"What _Antarctic Lights_?"

"The auroras! You know, that lights that up at night at the magnetic poles.."

Ranma, only half- way fallowing him along.

"During the winter months.."

Ranma, still confused.

"The ones we saw last night after the snowstorm!" Tatewaki shouted out back; feeling as if Ranma, were playing mind games on him.

Ranma pulled back, and held his hands out in defense, still, without a clue. "Look, I have no idea what you're talking about man. I didn't see any lights or auroras, or anything of the sort last night; all I saw was a snowstorm...maybe this place has finally got to you, for good."

Tatewaki finally broke when he pulled Ranma, in by his red nightshirt. "Don't sit there, and play mind games with me! They were there! I saw them.. you saw them; thou even claimed it was lighting."

"I what-" Ranma, pulled back with an odd expression across his face."You must had been dreamin' man."

Tatewaki, sat back confused, and bit disappointed. (So it never happened?) "Art thou sure?"

Ranma pulled out a calendar they had before he pointed to the date. "It's January 1st; Happy New Year, moron," Ranma, shrugged aside. "I figured you'd at least be happy about that of all things."

"I'll be more than satisfied.. once ye hast completed thy New Year's resolution."

"Huh.. well yeah, what's my New Year's resolution then?"

"Is for thee to show I thy file!" Ranma blinked for a minute in thoughts. (So, he didn't look at my file yet?) Then he's thoughts came back to square one.

"Not until you complete your New Year's resolution, and finally tell me _everything_!" Ranma held up the map to him next. "Starting with where the hell we're going!?"

Tatewaki ripped the map out of Ranma's hands before he pointed out where they were headed next. "North- East, along the Transantarctic Mountains. So the minute after we eat start packing Saotome."

Time past quicker than they thought. They ate, and packed up their things just before Ranma, made his way out of the igloo. Tatewaki, was just on his way out behind Ranma, when he had noticed something that had feel from Ranma's pack. He carefully bent down, without falling, just as he grabbed it off the igloo _floor_; he slowly turned the mysteries _snap-shot_ paper when he saw what was on the other side; and what he saw he couldn't believe. His jaw almost dropped before he caught himself. (Now why in the world would he have this? Since when did Ranma, have pictures of me?)Tatewaki, quickly shook it off. (No! No Way! Absolutely not! Impossible! There is no way he would ever have pictures of me; there must be some kind of mix- up. )

Ranma stepped back in to see what was holding Tatewaki, back. "Are you comin' or not?" Tatewaki pulled his eyes up from the photo to Ranma, back to the photo. "Uh- aye Saotome."

Ranma turned to leave, before Tatewaki, quickly slipped the picture into his pack. (Even if he had really bring it with him, why hast he told me not of it yet?) Millions of questions swarmed Tatewaki's mind, by the time he caught up with Ranma, outside.

The two were no sooner, or later on their way down the _invisible_ path when Tatewaki, stopped them for a minute before he turned back to the igloo. "Uh, hold on, I think I forgot to do something."

Ranma stood there with his arms folded. "Ugh..well hurry it up." (Great.. now what's he up too.)

Tatewaki went back as he draw a symbol of T/R, with heart around on their igloo, as Ranma, studied him in an odd senses. (What's he doing?)

When Tatewaki, was done, he walked back up to Ranma, reading the expression across Ranma's face. "What?"

"What were you doing?"

"I was just marking our igloo."

"Marking our igloo."

"It's our mark that we've been the South Pole; explores do it all the time."

"Well how come I didn't get the mark anything on there then."

"Look, I hath already taken care of it, okay."

Ranma started walking in _that_ direction. "Well can I see it.."

Tatewaki raced in front of Ranma, before he turned to him back around the other way; he gently pushed him forward walking him ahead. "Not-uh-uh-uh.. "Nevermind me-" Tatewaki turned away.

Ranma, twisted back toward Tatewaki, in clear suspicion. "Okay, what'd you write?"

"Nothing.. just our initials keep walking."

So, that's what they did; they just continued walking, on, and on, and on, along the Transantarctic Mountains, down another part of the Polar Plateau path. A path that led nearby glaciers such as: Shackleton, Nimrod, and Byrd; yet, not too before the Mackey Glacier. They went from, eighty south, and two- hundred, and eighty east to seventy south, and one-hundred, and fifty-six east.

{AN: Making their final destination of Lake Fryxell, which is seventy-seven south, and one- hundred, and twenty-six east. All heading north.}

By, February 2nd the two eventually made it towards the tip outside of the Taylor glacier, and through another long inescapable path that melted into Lake Bonney, and then onward to the Taylor valley. There were different parts of the Taylor valley such as outlets to other glacial paths, and lakes. One of those paths led to the Canada glacier; which melted into Lake Hoore, on the right, and into Lake Fryxell, on the left; leaving Lake Fryxell, in between the Canada, and Commonwealth glaciers; two- point- eight miles long.

{AN: Depending on how you're looking at map. If the Antarctic map was flipped upside down, Lake Hoore would be on the left, and Lake Fryxell, would be on the right. If you flipped the Antarctic map, upside up, it would be the same way I described before.}

Fallowing the map, Tatewaki's eyes finally met with the Taylor glacier before him. (Could it be?..) Tatewaki, eventually came at a stopping point making Ranma, stop in the process.

"Oh no," Ranma started off in worry. " What now? Don't tell me we're lost again?"

"If my coordinates are correct, I believe we have finally made it to the Taylor glacier," Tatewaki informed Ranma, all together.

"So we're finally here," Ranma looked around the area before another question popped into his mind. "Where is this blue lake at then?"

Tatewaki held up the map to Ranma, before he pointed the spots out to him. "Lake Fryxell, is somewhere over there, and we are over here."

"Ugh, how much longer is this going to take?" Ranma gripped in complaint.

Tatewaki took a quick look at Ranma, back to the glacier. "As long as it takes."

Ranma grew nothing but frustrated. "Ugh..I'm getting a little tired of walking all around Antarctica without any answers to anything!"

"If ye had not want to walk all over Antarctica, thee should'st hath come not."

"I'm not the one who got us lost the first time; we ended up at the south pole cause of you!"

"For the last time, Saotome, it was the map, not me. Withal, thou art the one who didn't want to go back." Tatewaki, remarked back in somewhat of a brother. "Sure hope that none of our paths are blocked off this time."

"In that case.." Ranma held his hand out to Tatewaki. " I think you should give me the map."

"You already thought we were there!" Tatewaki shouted out referring to the fact Ranma, was already lost.

Ranma pulled himself up towards Tatewaki, before he snapped out in expression. "That's because I didn't have the map!"

"How dost I acknowledge ye won't lose it.."

"Are you insane? I'm not gonna lose the map; it's the only thing that's keeping us from dying out here!"

Right after, Ranma, drifted off. "What if you lose it, huh?"

"I won't lose it; at least I know better then put it back in its rightful spot," Tatewaki spat back in resentment.

"What's that suppose to mean? Besides, how can you put it back its container if you don't have yours?" Ranma asked back in good inquisitiveness.

Tatewaki pressed a quick thought aside. (So he has knowledge not that I had switched them out yet, good.) "I'll put it yours."

Ranma just jumped at him, but not much more."So you could get a look at the rest of my file!?" Ranma, stepped back with another look of distrust. "Nice try buddy."

"I am certainly handing it to ye not, to give thee the chance to put it back in mine!" Tatewaki, demanded in retort. Ranma didn't miss a beat.

"Oh I see, so that's the real reason why you won't let me look at the map."

"Thou art only using thy file in some sort ransom to look into mine; 'tis not as if there's anything in thy file that I already know not of," Tatewaki explain in reason.

"Then why do you want to look at mine so badly?" Ranma asked completely thrown off.

"For I to see what's missing in thy file," Tatewaki elucidated along. "Thou couldst be withholding information from me."

Ranma couldn't believe his ears. "I'm withholding information!? You're the one whose withholding information! Why do you think I'm asking you all of these questions for in the first place? And if there is any information in my file, I wouldn't even know what it would be; but I'm guessing that it must have to do with all the crap you're keeping from me!"

"Either way Saotome, they art to touch this map, not at all."

"Oh yeah, just you wait until we get there; I'll eventually find out one way or the other."

"I would like to see you try!"

"Do you want me to knock you out cold, and read your whole file then, cause you're in a good place for it!?"

"As if thou wouldst really get anywhere if ye did!"

"What's that suppose to mea-" Suddenly, Ranma, got interrupted by a voice; the very one that came from their transceivers.

"Hello, anyone there?"

Tatewaki came to a sudden halt before he stood there uneasy, and tentative. (If I answer it what will Dr. Keisuke, say. If he believes the fact that Ranma, isn't really here, what wouldst he saith then?)

"Tatewaki, Ranma, its Dr. Keisuke."

"Well, are you gonna answer him, or not?" Ranma asked out in irritation.

Tatewaki swallowed restlessly anxious as he slowly, and nervously pulled the transceiver out of his blue, Antarctic, coat pocket. In spite of answering it, he just stared at the transceiver in uncertainty.

"Are you there?"

Still struggling to answer, Ranma, finally ripped the transceiver out of Tatewaki's hand before he answered. "Yeah, were here?"

Tatewaki held himself back. "What the hell was that for!?"

Ranma held not only the button in on the transceiver but his defense as well. "Well you weren't answering it!"

On the other side, Dr. Keisuke, sighed in relief. "Glad to hear that you two haven't lost each other yet."

Tatewaki brought himself to the transceiver. "If I had my file I wouldst had taken off long ago."

"Take it from some idiot try to ditching me while we were on our way to the Transantarctic Mountains," Ranma snapped back without stopping himself.

"Leave it to the person who tried to escape when we were at the end of the Shackleton glacier," Tatewaki put out in defense.

"Tell it to the _one_ person who doesn't believe the fact that I'm real!" Ranma shouted out in anger.

"He doesn't believe you're real?" Dr. Keisuke asked off in curious thought.

"Yeah, in fact, he thinks I'm some sort of hallucination," Ranma jumped in first.

Tatewaki simply held his ground. "As if I Tatewaki Kuno, shall ever hallucinate thee."

"Well if you think I'm _not_ real, or believe you're not hallucinating, then what am I too you?"

"Maybe he's just having a pseudo- hallucination; perceiving that you're a vivid hallucination," Dr. Keisuke, implied in snoopy, speculation.

Tatewaki stepped towards the transceiver as he held up a fist. "For the last time, I am not hallucinating."

"Then you're just delusional then!?" Ranma snapped back in aggression.

"If he were just delusional, he wouldn't be treating you as if you were a hallucination," Dr. Keisuke, pointed out in presumption.

"Well he can't be hallucinating me, for the fact that I'm real, and not to mention, still right here."

"Okay, well maybe, you're some kind of illusion to him," Dr. Keisuke tossed in on consideration.

"Illusion?" Ranma stepped back as an awarded expression crossed his face. " How?"

"You're the object he perceives as fake when the fact you're real; it couldn't be any more, or less better misinterpreted then that."

"Or maybe he just doesn't want me to be real," Ranma explained making Tatewaki, look like he had been acting through it all.

"So Antarctica made him turn delusional, by making him believe in the misinterpretation; making him only seem as he were hallucinating," Dr. Keisuke, calculated in approximation. "If anything, it starting to sound dissociative to me; or maybe he's just delirious; that's common over here."

"Or he's hallucinating a fake me; maybe coming all the way out here to Antarctica, has finally drove him insane for good!" Ranma, shouted out in an irritable rage.

Tatewaki simply stood there as he grew more annoyed, and irritated by the minute; merely due to the fact he was getting sick of two talking of him, and in front of him as if where some type of display to be discussed no less. He finally turned to them in sulky resentment, and opposition . "For all I know this could all be some sort of dream; like the one he claimed I had!"

{AN: Even _this_ is driving me crazy.}

"Don't forget, Antarctica, will find ways to mess with your mind, body, and senses. Remember, Antarctica, is filled with ways to disrupt your thinking process by using different mirages, illusions, delusions, and hallucinations," Dr. Keisuke, explained on input.

"Then how come nothing has affected me yet?" Ranma, question aside at loss.

"Keep in mind that both you, and Tatewaki, came here for different reasons; what you guys say, do, and feel will have an overall affect on how Antarctica, will affect you. That doesn't necessarily mean that nothing will get to you; if nothing has happened yet, there's a good chance it will later," Dr. Keisuke explained in the best way he can.

After that Rama, looked right up at Tatewaki, before he made a very good point. "See, Dr. Keisuke, believes that I'm real."

"Enough." Tatewaki simply switched the topic, ignoring Ranma, altogether. "How come thou art contact us not before?"

"Yeah, you could've called if you knew we were heading the wrong way!" Ranma shouted over the transceiver. "We ended up at the South Pole, cause of that idiot!"

Tatewaki yanked the transceiver back from Ranma. "Thou art the idiot."

After that, the two overheard Dr. Keisuke, as he began to explain his _very good reason_. "You two were off my radar, so I couldn't contact you before. I didn't pick anything up until you guys got closer to the Transantarctic Mountains. And now according to my radar, you two are close to lake Fryxell, right?"

"We're near the end of Taylor Valley," Tatewaki, quickly answered back.

Ranma simply ripped the transceiver back from Tatewaki, before he started asking his own questions."Speaking of which you two have a lot of explaining to do?" Ranma began. "Starting with what you did to let that idiotic, senseless, brainless, delusional moron come all this way looking for something that even he has doubt finding himself?"

Dr. Keisuke cleared his throat before he proceeded on carefully. "Tatewaki, found a document about the legend, back when he was in Nerima. Later on, he called me up, because he wanted to come down here to see if the legend, Ice Crystals of Mixed Seas, was true or not; he had been following the legend since. Alternatively, I don't think Tatewaki, would have as much doubt _not_ being able to finding them, compared to whatever would happen if he did."

"Well, I guess that leads me to my next question then. What's in those ice crystals I _still _don't know about yet? What are these ice crystals so important for anyway? Cause apparently, not only do I not have to the whole story, but half of the information in my file is missing; explain that one."

"These ice crystal are important for a lot of things. I gave Tatewaki, the extra information, because I thought he was the only one that was going to look for them. What's more, as long at least, one of you out there have all the information, what's there to worry about?"

"Well he ain't telling me nothin', cause he's feeling guiltily keeping his secrets from me, and stuff in which he can't even face himself. If anything that's why he keeps hallucinating a fake me. So, what is it that he's afraid of if I find out what's in those ice crystals?"

"It's not my decision to tell you. That's all on Tatewaki. Let me know if you two have any other questions, or any help drilling out those ice cores, okay?"

"Uh- hey wait-"

"Okay, bye," Tatewaki quickly pulled the transceiver away from Ranma, and stuffed it in his other Antarctic coat pocket.

Ranma scowled in vein, erked off. "Hey, what'd you do that for? Give it back!"

"Absolutely not!"

"What if we can't get a hold of him when we need him? It's not like I can count on you to contact him." Ranma just then another thought entered; he shook off whatever he said before, before he turned to Tatewaki. "Why didn't you want to talk to him anyway?"

Tatewaki quickly, looked away.

Ranma, sneaked up on him, take a lucky leap. "Oh I see you were afraid of what he was gonna say, if he thought that you were the only one here. If I had gotten lost somewhere, he would've really thought you were _hallucinating_, or whatever, and he would've said things that he wouldn't have said if I were here."

Tatewaki, stood right in front of Ranma, and looked straight into his eyes. "You have no idea what you have gotten thyself into."

Their arguments continued leading them nowhere; yet, only until things gradually began to quiet down. Without notice, they ultimately hit Lake Bonney, and Lake Hoore; moreover, before they knew it, they had finally reached the Canada glacier.

After the long silence, Ranma finally spoke."So where are we now?"

"At the Canada Glacier; Lake Fryxell, should'st be on the other side of this glacier, according to the map," Tatewaki, answered back, in whatever honesty he could provide.

Ranma stepped closer before he examined the map for his-self."Good, it's about time." Onwards, Ranma, studied the glacier under his feet when he retained something, both Dr. Keisuke, and Tatewaki, had mentioned. (He/I came here to see if the legend was true.) Ranma, paused on the glacier for a minute, letting Tatewaki, walk on ahead. (What is this legend exactly; and what dose Kuno, have to do with it?)

Ranma blinked in deep thought as he slowly made his way behind Tatewaki. (What? Is it power he's looking for or-) Just then flashbacks hit, when he remembered something else Tatewaki, had said. (I believe if I had wanted to obtain some kind of power to defeat you, I would've found a better way to do it.) Ranma, blinked at a loss. (So if he's not here for any kind of power… then what is he here for?) After that, Ranma, drew out a long sigh; he hadn't had a clue. (Ugh.. maybe I should've paid more attention.)

The last thought finally opened the door for an opportunity; a opportunity, Ranma, didn't think he would get. (Maybe the more I find out about this legend they keep referring too, then maybe I'll be able to finally figure out..at least something.) Right after that, Ranma, finally caught up to Tatewaki. "So Kuno?"

Tatewaki, held out a breath already knowing what Ranma, wanted. "Aye Saotome?"

"What do you have to do with this legend?"

"Look, this isn't about me, okay," Tatewaki, quickly, snapped back jumpy.

"What if the legends aren't true, what would you to do then?" Ranma, snooped out in curiosity.

"Be grateful to not find out what could happened if they were," Tatewaki not saying much more on why."

Ranma took his next lucky leap as he ranted on. "Yeah, cause then I'll never know; I won't find out until then; isn't that right?"

"According to Dr. Keisuke, they are," Tatewaki, came to a sudden pause. "Thou not understand the legend; do you?"

"Hey, I told you what I knew.."

"Shows me how much you listen."

Ranma jumped at him in defense. "Hey, knowing the old man, he probably came up with his own version, of what he _wanted_ to tell me!"

"This will teach ye to listen!" Tatewaki, shouted back, _all in fair of love, and war_.

{AN: Or however that's suppose to go.}

"So are you gonna clarify, or what?" Ranma snapped back in question, and wonderment.

Tatewaki, turned to Ranma, with a stern face. "I'm only doing this, because it's crucial, for when we drill out the ice cores."

(All right! I'm finally on to something!) Ranma thought before he pasted a small grin on his face.) "All right then… I'll listen this time… I promise."

Tatewaki just handed Ranma, a grim stare as he merely shook his head. (I don't know what he thinks he could actually get out of this.) "It's been said that long ago that there was an earthquake upon this place; a tsunami soon followed, and carried out a few currents to the sea; these currents eventually got mixed up with other currents, streams, rivers, other lakes, and so forth."

Tatewaki came to a quick stop as he brought his eyes straight to Ranma. "Getting this Saotome."

Ranma simply waved his hand up, and down. "Yeah- yeah, go on."

Tatewaki was soon back on track, as he explained the rest. "One of those sources brought in a rare constituent that eventually froze over time, creating rare ice crystals. Later on, fallowing the Antarctic legends, they were found in a cave within the Ross Ice Shelf; that were soon found by Dr. Keisuke's team. Once they found it they stared to carry out test, and eventually found out what those ice crystal where for. By the time Dr. Keisuke, came back, the cave was soon re-frozen over; so he went to search other places, and that one place is Lake Fryxell."

After Tatewaki was done he looked back at Ranma, again. "Understood; is this clear enough; or do I have to end up doing it in four different languages'?"

"So there's some wired thing in the water that came from a place near here, that froze into an icicle."

"More or less."

Ranma eyed Tatewaki, taking guesses. "So what's in the water then.. liquid nitrogen?"

Tatewaki looked away annoyed. "I said rare constituent; I didn't say anything about liquid nitrogen."

"So what is it then?"

"I am not even sure what's exactly in it," Tatewaki looked down before he swallowed; he soon looked back up to Ranma. "I just know what it does."

"So what does it do?"

Tatewaki paused for a minute before he found a way around it. "I just know what it's supposed to do; for it to do anything other-" Tatewaki, glanced aside for a minute, and in the next, soon face to face with Ranma, once again. "-it wouldst mean that the legends would be proven false, and this would be nothing more than a waist of my time."

Ranma tried once more. "Okay, then what's it suppose to do?"

Tatewaki atomically averted his eyes away; he soon feel a hand pull him in. Tatewaki, just eyed the ground.

Ranma shook him. "Come on! Tell me!"

Tatewaki finally looked back up at Ranma. "It's in my file, and that's all I am going to-"

Without notice, they eventually made it to the end of the Taylor Valley, of the Canada Glacier. Tatewaki, suddenly came to a halt, as he paused in his tracks. He stood there, and froze like a frozen waterfall. "-say."

They both took a good look at scenery, in mystification, and bewilderment; there was no other words about it, the view was absolutely, amazing, incredibly stunning, and extraordinarily mind-blowing. The place was dreamy, surreal, clam, and inviting; the two were deeply, swept away by the pleasing, alluring, ambiance it emitted. Yet, not only by the vibes, but as well as the surrounding areas of three thousand, and twelve square miles, (four-point- eight kilometers), four-point-five kilometer long; a length of three-point-six miles long, (five-point-eight kilometers), and with a mean, depth of twenty meters, (sixty-six feet.)

One of these surround areas, where of the landscape of dry, and glacial hills, frozen grounds, and Lake Fryxell itself. Lake Fryxell, was long, and circler with rough edges; like a giant puzzle piece. It was frozen, and in all sorts of different shades of blue; along with white lines, and shapes within the differ layers of hard, snowy, and glossily reflective ice; such as the ice maze they were soon to walk through.

Tatewaki quickly pulled the map out, and rescanned it. Tatewaki, gasped lightly. (This is it! We're here! I can't believe we _finally_ made it here.) Just then, that overwhelming, mind- bottling effect, ran over him as if a crashing wave of snow could. Tears, wiled up in his eyes, as the map shook in his hands."We are here; we are finally here." Tatewaki, dropped his head as his tears dropped onto the last of glacier he was on.

Ranma walked aside of Tatewaki, before he leaned in a bit. "Hey, now.. what's with you?"

Tatewaki, merely wiped up his tears, and then turned to Ranma. "We, Ranma Saotome, have finally made it to Lake Fryxell." Tatewaki, put the map back before he walked off. "Let's set up camp; I want to collect the ice cores before it gets too late."

"Okay." Ranma replied in confusion, and worry; only until a cretin thought had lifted a small grin upon him. (Bingo.)

They eventually started to cross the ice maze; and already within in thirty minutes, Ranma grew quickly frustrated. "Uh, how much longer is this stupid maze."

Tatewaki pointed to their spot. "It's just up ahead."

The minute they got there they started setting up camp when a younger camper reappeared, the one the two were thought they would see again. "Ah, Jin, thou art back!" Tatewaki called out in surprise.

Ranma pushed down the last pole of their Himalaya tent before he walked over to Tatewaki, and the Penguin; the one that was standing there in front of him. After that, he turned to Tatewaki, in question. "How do you even know if that's the same penguin, or not?"

Tatewaki turned back to Ranma, in bitterness. "I just know that's him all right."

"Yeah, whatever man," Ranma muttered aside.

"Maybe he came back for more food," Tatewaki pointed out.

"Well what do penguins eat?"

"Fish, squid, krill.. other crustaceans," Tatewaki, put on an educated guess.

"What did you feed him last time?"

"Nothing, I just gave him some water; I don't have any food for him; I didn't come prepared on this trip to go around feeding the penguins you know."

Ranma sighed as he shook his head. "I might have something; if not I'm gonna need the map, so I can go find a place where I can get him some fo-"

All of a sudden, out of nowhere, the two overheard loud calls of squawking, honking, and buzzing before they turned to see a unending number penguins coming over on the hillside. They couldn't believe their eyes; they never seen so many penguins before.

"Where did all of those penguins come from all of a sudden?" Ranma, asked out without a clue.

"How should I know; maybe they all came here to look for something to eat."

"What food? The only lake around here that we know of is frozen," Ranma, added in pessimisms.

"Starch that, it looks as if they brought food," Tatewaki, implied observing the penguins around.

Just then, the two saw Jin, being fed by another.

Ranma twitched before he replied back something Tatewaki, wasn't expecting. "Okay, gross; I think I just lost my appetite."

"That's just how penguins eat, so get use to it Saotome; if ye like it not then ye could leave Antarctica for good." Tatewaki remarketed back making his point.

Ranma automatically, caught on; he turned to Tatewaki. "Try again flightless bird brain, as if that's going to keep me from getting any information out of you."

Without another word, Tatewaki, sighed before he turned around to the tent. "Do what you want; I'm heading in to get something to eat."

After that, Tatewaki, made it back in the tent for something to eat leaving Ranma, there alone with his growling stomach. Ranma put a hand on his stomach before he let out a low, groan of complaint. "Aw- man." Ignoring the flightless, aquatic birds he gave in, and got something to eat.

Once they came back out, most of the penguins had left the area. Not a minute later, Ranma, turned to Tatewaki. "Ready to hit those ice cores."

Tatewaki suddenly, came to a pause when irony came back in regret. (Oh no! I forgot I switched out our cylinders. If Ranma, finds out I've switched them he might just knock me out, take my cylinder back, and start reading it...)

"Uh..Kuno?"

Tatewaki clench his teeth together. (Err.. how am I suppose to drill for ice cores without Ranma, noticing anything suspicious? He'll know I have it once I pull out the information I am in need of. How am I suppose to keep him from thinking that I've switched them... after all this time?)

"You're acting wired again, man," Ranma, stated out next.

Tatewaki bit his lip. (I'll just have to make up something for now.)

"Okay, what's going on Kuno?" Ranma, questioned out in wonderment.

"Absolutely nothing; I was just thinking some things over..that's all," Tatewaki started off with a small white- fib. "Let's get started," in subsequence, Tatewaki, atomically walked away.

The two of them finally pulled their things together before they went out. While they were out they searching the ice, for the spot where the ice bubble was. After fighting through more ice mazes, and snow patches they finally saw a clearing of light blue ice.

"I think it's over there," Tatewaki pointed out to the big, thin, white circular shape, that circled around the spot where the bubble was at.

The two came up to the spot before Ranma, pressed on inquisitively. "Are you _sure_ this is it?"

Tatewaki, brought this pack out, and dug through it with a shrug. "I know not myself, for we'll see once I compare it with the x- ray."

Ranma blinked at a loss. "X- ray?" After that, Ranma shook it off. "What x- ray?"

Tatewaki finally his tin cylinder, and then finally, the x- rays, and graphs, and data sheets. "We are to look for something like this," Tatewaki, held one of the x- rays to Ranma; the one that matched the same circle they found.

Ranma, eyed over at Tatewaki, in complaint. "Hey, how'd you get that back?" The question hit Tatewaki, as if Ranma, could with an ice core; thinking as fast as he could, he finally came up with a fib; one that would hold Ranma, back for the time being. "I got it out of our tent when I went in to eat; I figure I needed it for the ice cores, so I took it back."

Ranma walked up to the x- ray. "Huh? Not for long.. not until I get it back from you; not to mention my transceiver while I'm add it." Ranma, added in without a doubt. He looked at the x-ray, studying the shape that was on it; comparing it to the one that froze in the lake. "You know, Dr. Keisuke, never told me about any x- rays."

"I am sure Dr. Keisuke, has kept quiet about the all the information that is within my file."

"Why, afraid I might find out whatevers on those x- rays?"

"As if ye to know what they saith," Tatewaki said limiting Ranma's ability to read x- rays.

"Oh yeah! Well I'm sure all that other crap you pulled out will tell me!" Ranma exclaimed, feeling challenged.

Tatewaki looked at the papers in his hand; sifting through them one by one. "As if ye wouldst understand these graphs, and data sheets." While Tatewaki viewed the information Ranma, thoughts began to flow. (Graphs, and data sheets?) Ranma, began to grow more curious, and interested by the minute as he pulled himself closer to the information. Ranma, started to meddle in, snooping around on Tatewaki's, right, left, from behind, and above, trying to get whatever he can out of what was in Tatewaki's file. Tatewaki's patients finally ran out. "Wouldst ye mind; I'm trying to focus here!"

"Well you're not sharing anything with me."

"They're just charts, and graphs, from recent ice cores, okay. I have to make sure I get the ice core the day the earthquake hit."

"But that was years ago. Beside, how would you know if you got the right age of the ice, or not?"

Tatewaki, put the sheet down to his side. "I won't know for cretin until Dr. Keisuke, tests it. For now, if I follow the directions, I should'st obtain the ice core with no problem."

This time they both went looking over the files of data sheets, graphs, and x- rays, that showed: dating, (showing dates of earthquakes, and volcanic eruptions; which would increase of sulfur acidity.), measuring, temperature (of hot, and cold; not to mention wind direction, and strength in the process. The wormer it got, and the heavier, and stronger winds is..the high levels of sodium chloride.). Not to mention, seasonal changes (within each of the years, of each winter, and summer). Last but not least Chemical, and Radioisotopes test, of hydrogen, and oxygen.

"That's all it says?" Ranma questioned out in confusion. "I don't get it? What's secretive about this?"

"There is nothing secretive about this," Tatewaki simply stated aside.

"Then why didn't you tell me about all of _this_ the start, huh?" Ranma inquired out in suspicion.

"I figure you knew; if anything, the less ye know the better."

"Hey!" Ranma protested before he integrated Tatewaki, once again. "So how exactly do we do this again?"

Tatewaki held up another sheet out to him. "With directions."

"Oh well.. what do the directions say." Tatewaki, read them one by one, marking each off. "Okay, it says here: With an ice drill, drill along, and into the ice, starting from the ice bubble's ring."

"Ice bubble's ring?" Ranma repeated out to him.

Tatewaki turned to Ranma, explaining it in celerity. "The white, ring marking ye seeth now."

"Oh."

"Then it says to.. fill the ice barrel with the core, and then to pull it up to the surface. In the last part, it says to.. cut whatever selections needed, and then place them in a polyethylene container carrier."

"Okay, sounds easy enough. How far do we have to go down?"

"Nine meters."

"Nine meters?"

"Twenty- Eight feet."

{AN: Taking educated guess, by conversation table.}

"Twenty- Eight feet!" Ranma, shirked out at first. "How are we suppose to carry a twenty- eight foot long, ice core all the way back in Antarctica! Huh, genius!? Where you seriously not thinking before you decided to come all the way down here, and do this! I'm starting to think I should have you examined, by a doctor, or a shrink, or somethin'!"

Tatewaki just stood there waiting for him to finish.

"Or have them surgically remove your brain, and put a new on in there, cause someone must had drop you on your head, the minute you were born!"

"Done yet?"

"If you think I'm gonna drag an ice core that long back there..just forget about it Kuno; as if it would even be possible!"

"That's why we're going to cut them in four separate pieces, and carrying them with our in those over there," Tatewaki, explained out, pointing to the ice core protectors. "We'll put one each of our sleds, and then I'll carry one, and thou shalt carry the other."

Ranma, stood there feeling pretty stupid. "Oh..."

At last, Tatewaki, finally pulled out the lazar ice drill before he turned to Ranma. "Come on. Let's get this done, and over with."

Taking turns, the two had eventually filled the ice barrel with the core, and pulled it up the surface. After taking a short break they stood there starting at the sitting ice core.

"What could be in here that's so secretive, huh? What is it that was so important that you guys didn't want me to know about?"

"Well obviously you can't see it Saotome," Tatewaki handed on in clarity.

"Oh, that's right, it's something in the water," Ranma heard himself that time. (Something in the water? Huh.. that's odd.)

"Are we going to finish this, or not?" Tatewaki, questioned out at last.

Ranma, shook it off before he eye's met the size of the ice core. "Uhh..I don't think we can take all of that."

Without a response back Tatewaki, simply went to his transceiver, and contacted Dr. Keisuke. "Dr. Keisuke, how are we suppose to divide this thing?"

Tatewaki, and Ranma, waited for a moment, before a voiced popped on. "Umm.. let's see here."

Back at the submarine lab, Dr. Keisuke, looked over some files that were close to the same measurement Tatewaki, and Ranma, had gonen for. "Lazar it in half, and then in fours; leave the upper half there, and take back the lower half; the bottom is crucial to our study."

"Alrighty then, that we shall do."

"Anything else?"

"Yeah, how come you didn't tell me about the x- rays, and all of that."

"I just figured Tatewaki, would told you about them," Dr. Keisuke, answered in complete honesty."Anything else?"

Ranma growled under his breath annoyed. "No."

After that, Dr. Keisuke got off leaving the two to figure out the rest themselves.

"So how should we split this up?" Ranma inquired without a clue.

"We measure it by feet."

"We don't have a ruler."

"By our feet," Tatewaki replied, thinking of the only measuring method to use.

Tatewaki, and Ranma, took turned cutting each piece when the other held the spot for the next count. After all four pieces were lazared, the two placed the ice cores in their polyethylene protectors. As soon as Tatewaki, was done he packed in the ice barrel; folding like poles of a camping tent.

{AN: This a fictional type of ice barrel; one that could be carried.}

Once, everything was packed away, the two where soon on their way back. Ranma, eyed Tatewaki, with a planned look on his face. (Bad enough he has the map, and his file, but now he has my transceiver. I could get his stupid file anytime, but without that map, I need that transceiver back. I need something to help me get around this place.) After that Ranma, was thinking of ways of how to approach Tatewaki, to obtain his transceiver back, but all of them seemed like a complete waist. So, he did the only thing he could do at the moment, and finally leaped at Tatewaki, without another thought.)

"Ah! Saotome!" Tatewaki pushed Ranma, away from him at a distance. "What art ye think one is doing?"

"Getting that transceiver back before I end up lost without it!"

"Thou thinkth ye couldst just jump me, and taketh it back? Who dost ye thinkth thou art?" Tatewaki shouted out back in interrogation.

"You just don't want me to have it, because you know that we can get in contact with Dr. Keisuke, again!" Ranma, snapped back motivated; motivated enough to strike Tatewaki's left cheek, and dug through his pocket for the transceiver. Once, Ranma, had a hold of it, he ripped it out, and finally lifted himself off of Tatewaki.

Tatewaki, sat up as he black, and blue eye twitched. "Is that all ye wanted."

Ranma, walking towards his sled, looked back at Tatewaki. "Don't worry, I'll get _that _when I'm good, and ready."

Afterwards, Tatewaki, and Ranma, soon took their things, and finished their _walk_ back to their campsite for dinner, and a _good_ night's rest.

The next morning arrived when Ranma, sat there shifting through his thoughts when he realized that Tatewaki, had still been asleep. (This would be the perfect time for me to find his file.) Ranma, then shifted through his pack, when he found what he believed to be Tatewaki's file. (Now, time to finally see what he's been keeping from me.) Ranma opened everything up to find a little surprise instead. (Hey..wait a minute, this is _my_ file!) Ranma blinked in confusion. (I thought Kuno, had my file?) He shook his head even more confused. (Wait a sec.. why would Kuno, but my file back in my pack? Here I am thinking it was his, and- wait a minute.. since when I _didn't_ have his file?) The answerer finally creeped up on Ranma; he clenched his teeth together when he finally realized what had happened. (Why that little..I can't believe he switched them on me like that!)

Ranma wacked Tatewaki, with his tin cylinder without his file in it. "Hey! Wake up, stupid!"

Just as Kuno, woke up, Ranma, jumped on top of him, grabbed him by his night shirt, and pulled him back and forth. "Tell me where it is!?"

Tatewaki paused tired, and confusion. "What art ye talking about?"

Ranma lifted up the tin cylinder up to Tatewaki, with an angry scowl across his face.

Tatewaki glowered back in sulky, alarm."That sure as hell better not be mine!"

"No, in fact it's not! So tell me Kuno, you swapped out our cylinders before we got here? Didn't you?"

Tatewaki's eyes, and ears tweaked up."Uh.."

"Didn't you!?" Tatewaki back away, nervous, with one hand behind head, letting out some sweat. "Uh.."

"When, huh?" Tatewaki only lowered his head. (Damn it! Now what am I going to do?)

"Uh..uh.." Ranma twitched his brow, in more anger. "Well.. Kuno?"

Tatewaki shifted his eyes side to side. (Shit.. what am I going to say?)

Just then, Ranma, caught a glimpse at Tatewaki's map when he remembered _something else_ that made him shake Tatewaki, again, and again. "It was when you took that map out when we were at the crevasse. Wasn't it?"

Tatewaki didn't move this time, wearing a guilty look on his face.

"Wasn't it!?"

It took Tatewaki, a minute, but then simply nodded.

Ranma pointed to himself in disbelief. "I can't believe it! You made me believe I had your file all this time!? I can't believe you! After all this time!"

Tatewaki snapped back bitter, right then, and there. "It's not like I went through your file; I just couldn't take any chance with you with mine."

"Take what chance, huh? I already know what's in your stupid file.. nothing!"

"Then wherefore art ye still looking for it; tell me that one Saotome?"

Suddenly, the two heard squawking, and honking from the outside. This brought the two, back to another reality.

Tatewaki noticed where Ranma, was before he turned away with a small blush; he then turned back to him with a nasty glare across his face before he pushed Ranma, away for him. "Get off!"

"Gladly!" Ranma finally removed himself from Tatewaki's lap before he packed up his file, packed it in his case.

"We should'st get ready before it gets too late; the sooner we those ice cores examine the better."

Ranma simply turned away."Right..fine..whatever."

After everything was packed up, Tatewaki, and Ranma, said their buys to Jin. They were sooner, or later on their way back to the Ross Ice Shelf, and the nuclear submarine the scientist practically lived in. In spite of this, there are some things that just had to hold them back. If it wasn't one thing, it was another. By the time the two reached the other end of the Taylor Valley, the sky turned grey, and the wind started to pick up any, and all snow, blowing it around.

"Great.. another stupid storm," Ranma, grumbled under his breath. (What else could possibly make the day any worse?)

Irony, simply answer to Ranma's thoughts; later, about half way down from the Taylor Glacier, there was a fork in the snow; one leading along the Taylor Glacier, and other leading along the Ferrar Glacier; separated by the Quartermain Mountains, and the Knobhead Rock mountain hill.

{AN: Or something along that; not too sure what it is.}

"I saith we go left," Tatewaki ordered on reading the map. Ranma simply turned left without another word; still affected by the memory of events, Ranma, hadn't let go on what had happened that morning. "Yeah, whatever.."

"What's wrong with three?" Tatewaki questioned on by Ranma's short remarks.

No comment.

"Saotome?"

No answer.

"Ranma?"

No words.

Tatewaki just then, grabbed Ranma, by his red, Antarctic coat, and shook him to bring him back. "Tell me what is going on Saotome!"

"Don't tick me off anymore then what you already have," Ranma stated with a bitter glare. "I'm freezing, starving, and I've just about enough of these stupid storms around here; so don't start with me, okay."

Tatewaki expression bought him to this. "What is it that I hath done this time, huh?"

"Why the hell should I tell you; in fact I shouldn't have to tell you, you should already know." Ranma expressed mild, and sulky.

At that, Tatewaki, slowly figured it out. "Thou art still holding a grudge about _that_!?"

"How can I trust you all the way out here, after you've lied to me after all that time!?" Ranma snapped out at last.

"Akin how I trust you, after you took off with my file!" Tatewaki placing his own armor up in interrogation. "Furthermore, if ye feel that way then go back home, and don't come back! Never! Thou should'st have come here not in the first place," Tatewaki finished off making his point.

"Well I can't believe I even came here in the first place? Maybe you're right, maybe I'm not supposed to be down here. I've had enough of your stupid little mind games. I guess I really did come all the way down here for nothing.. nothing but a waist of my time is what it is!" Ranma shouted back fiercely.

Tatewaki stepped toward him before he lowered his eyes, and scowled. "As it really matters; as far as I'm concerned, thou art nothing but a fake imitation anyway."

Ranma threw in a nippy glare along with an icy retort. "As far as I'm concerned, I never met you!"

Tatewaki tossed back cold- hearted dagger eyes, making Ranma's words ricochet."From this day you, and I are to not acknowledge of our existence, of any form, shape, or way. So go take a hike, cretin from nowheresland."

Ranma, snapped back at him with plain cold eyes."I'm as good as gone! So get lost freak from nowheresvill!

In the end, just like the _Siamese Twin_ glaciers: Taylor, and Ferrar, they both separated in to different directions. Ranma took off down south, leaving the Taylor Glacier; Tatewaki took off down south, of the Ferrar Glacier.

However, their plans didn't exactly go as planned.


	6. Missing: Lost Echoes In Antarctica

Chapter Five: Task of the Antarctic Missing: Lost Echoes In Antarctica!

Everything spiked up during this severe, intense, and distressing storm. The temperature was one- sixty below Fahrenheit, the wind chill was thirty below, and the wind speed was at one- hundred, and five.(One hundred, and ninety- four- point- five kilometers per hour.)

There was nothing but frigid, bitter-cold winds. The sky was filled with grey, and white clouds that created a unclear haze, and a dreadful whiteout; with the visibility only being a hundred meters. It was like walking lost in a blizzard that wanted to engulf you; similar to how an avalanche could. It's swirly wind blew up the snow from the ground as it took over gobbling up everything in its path; such as: hills, mountains, cliffs, dry valleys, sea- ice, ice shelves, ice bergs, sheets, caps, streams, and outlets; the frozen ground, ice field, and glaciers of all kind; such as mountain, valley, piedmont, cirque, and tidewater.

At the time Ranma, was face to face with the snowstorm with the snow goggles that covered his eyes. He lumbered through the dense wind, and thick hail. Despite the storm silence came from all around, he couldn't remember the last time it had been_ this_ quiet; or had _ever_ been this quiet. Then again, he couldn't remember a time where he was _this_ angry with anybody either. (What possessed me to come all the way down here to Antarctica, looking for that stupid, ignorant, moronic, imbecilic to being with? Now I'm completely lost, out here in the middle of nowhere, because of the numskull.

Ranma's thoughts were not wrong in the least. He was simply pulled of course; not only from the way he was suppose to go, but also from anything, and everything else. Ranma, plod a trail out along an opinion that couldn't be more true. (No..it's not just Kuno, it's everybody..all of them. _"Oh, why won't you go up there, and prove yourself as a Martial Artist." _It's as if they're trying to get rid of me; one way or the other. Fist they're trying to kick me out, and _now_ it's Kuno, telling me to get lost, and to never come back.

Ranma shivered in wonder in poor visibility, as the cold harsh breeze, and falling snow continued to pass him. (What's with him anyway? Risking himself, and everything like that; just to come all the way down here to search for a bunch of stupid ice crystals; only to see if a some stupid legend is true or not. He could end up losing everything if something happens to him..whatever he actually _had_. I know he's down here for all _that_, _and all_, but why? Why, even start to being with? What reason could he have, for coming all this way, and doing all of this? What's he really down here for? And for who? He told me that they didn't come down here for himself. So for who then? He can't just be here to help the old guy out; I know he wants something out of all of this, but what? When did he even plan on coming down here? Why did he have to come to the coldest place on planet? Why is it that this is the only place he could go for the water?"

Ranma paused to catch his breath when he let out a long sigh. (He just seems so out of it at times; he just seems so emotional, and depressed anymore. I never see him this _off _before; especially the way he reacted when I first found him. It seems as if they replaced his personality with Ryoga's; no... he's even worse off than Ryoga; which says a lot. I guess, _coming all the way down here to Antarctica_, was too much on the poor guy.) Ranma put his head to the side in consideration. (Is that what he thinks of me? Is that the same reason why he thinks I'm not real?) Ranma shrugged aside with questions he had never considered before. (I guess I can't really blame him; I mean I would've never pictured _him_ coming all the way down here for _my_ sake.)

{AN: Ironically enough as that sounds.}

Just then the pushy wind almost pulled Ranma down as it remind him, of how angry he was. (Ugh.. He tries to fight me about everything. Ever since the day I got here I've been trying to being that idiot back home, but no he has to be as stubborn as this wind outside.) Then another notion nagged at him. (Then again, maybe he thinks I can't really take him back; seeing as he thinks I'm a fake, and all. Maybe Dr. Keisuke, knew he wouldn't go back. He did mention that Kuno, wasn't _himself_.) I still can't believe he let that crazy, indecisive, moron out here all by himself. Now look what happened.)

(How is it that he seems to claim he knows that clueless, idiot better than I do anyway? So far, it seems the only thing he knows is what secrets they've been keeping from me. Now that I think of it, I wonder what Dr. Keisuke would've said if he thought Kuno, was just hallucinating. Kuno, was afraid of whatever it was; maybe it's the same thing he's afraid of if I end up finding out what's in those ice crystals.)

{AN: Can't argue there.}

(Why is he hallucinating a fake me to begin with? _Is it_ that he's only feeling guilty like I mentioned before? Is it that _he is_ afraid of what might happen if I do find out what's in that water?) Ranma paused when his questionable opinions took another turn. (Why would he be afraid? What's makes him so afraid?) Ranma blinked at a new idea that had hit. (Is it regret?) Ranma simply tossed his head back, and forth. (Then again..why would he regret it?)

(I just don't understand why he won't tell me anything. And now he's pretending I don't even exist; real or not.) Ranma eyed back towards his sled. (Well he's not gonna get anywhere without those other two ice cores. So he'll have to come, and find me; one way or the other.) Ranma paused, shivered, and sighed all together. (And, I guess I'm the one whose gonna have to clean up all this mess before that insecure, clueless numbskull get's even more depressed, and ends up doing something really stupid.)

In the same place, x- miles away from Ranma, Tatewaki, trudged on, and on through the low visibility as the _whiteout_ painted over Antarctica. His eyes hardened behind his own snow mask as he watched the dense, white powdery, and crystallized snowfall falling down on him. He shivered in his Antarctic coat as he felt the harsh cold wind swirling, and blowing all around him. Last but not least his thoughts froze just as the strong, solid hail did.

(I'm lost..too lost, even more lost then I was before, I can't find where I am anymore?)

(It's cold out here..what else is new? It's so cold out here my body feels numb, and I'm shivering like never before.)

(It's windy..too windy..it's so windy it's nearly impossible to walk..let alone stand.)

(It's white out here..as white as it was when I first came.)

(Not to mention dry..still dry..just as dry as the frozen ground back at Lake Fryxell..despite this storm.)

(Sometimes it makes me wonder why I decided to give up everything; to leave everything behind; to come all the way out here to Antarctica, and find a cure for my nemesis.. of all people. Why am I doing all of this for him? Why am I going through all this trouble, for him exactly? What meaning, and purpose do I have for it? Why am I looking for something I may never find; that might not even be here, or in those ice crystals to begin with? Really, what was I thinking? That _this_ was actually going to work? I'll die out here, one way, or the other, before_ anything_ _actually_ _ever_ happens. Dr. Keisuke is right, indeed; I am afraid of the fact that I came all this way to find nothing; but I'm even more afraid of what might happen if I had found something. If Ranma, knew what I was keeping from him; if I told him the truth, about everything.. he wouldn't believe it; he'd think _I went over the Ross Ice Shelf_ insane. That's exactly why I can't tell him what kind of water is in those ice crystals.)

The snowstorm eventually died down, and had calm to a final stop. With nothing left, but mist, fog, and anger from their fight; the one, and only other thing that had continued after the storm. Ranma, finally headed back to the outer parts of the Taylor, and Ferrar glaciers when he ran into the Taylor Dome. The glaciers didn't look really, _any_ different from before. There were still dry hills, and valleys; frozen ground, rocks beds, rock pits, and small mountain-ranged areas. Although, expect for the extra snow that had buried some of the lower pathways areas; such as what happened back at the Shackleton glacier.

Ranma walked in, and took a good look around; there was nothing but a white snowy ground, and nothing else expect for large space; space large enough to see that there was room for his tent. (I guess I could camp out here for now. This will give me the chance to get some serious answers, and finally start figuring out what the hell, is really going on around here.) Ranma started to unpack anything, and everything. In the end he pulled out the two ice core cases; and last but not least his file before he head out of his tent.

Ranma, sat down on his sled examining any, and all information he had from his file's paperwork, and from what he got out of the ice cores. Ranma stared at all his information for a minute when he let out a sigh. (Yeah, sure..my file says it all, all right; half of the information is missing from it.) Ranma, brought his eyes towards the two still covered ice cores, back to his file work, and then back to his files again; he grew frustrated before he dropped his file, next to him, on the sled. (Aw- man, if only I got my hands on those x- rays, and that other information he had. If only that basterd hadn't taken' his cylinder back; I should've taken it back when I had the chance. Now who knows if I'm ever gonna see it again. If only I got my hands on that document Dr. Keisuke told me about before.)

Ranma sat there, and meditated back through his trip; trying to remember any details, or questions he may have missed. (So, Kuno, was searching for these ice cores, for those ice crystals to look for somethin that's _nearly impossible to find_; because those scientist guys found something by experimenting with those crystals; to see if the legends were true. They were looking for something..rare; something that's impossible to find; something- something..legendary.) Ranma paused for a moment. (Legendary _water_..huh, that's weird.)

Ranma went over the legend again, and again. (Okay, maybe if I just broke it down a bit. So, this legend has to deal with an Earthquake, a Tsunami, a bunch of currents that were mixed together; not to mention the seas, rivers, lakes, streams, and run off.) Ranma, stopped himself when he realized something he hadn't before. (Lake?) Ranma, netted his brows together. (Was the legend talking about Lake Fryxell?) The questions continued as they circulated around his head. (Did those currents come from Lake Fryxell?) Ranma, shook his head when he re-thought about it. (No..wait that wouldn't make sense. If not, then does mean the water originated someplace else!? So, it froze here over time? So, it wouldn't be here if it hadn't froze?) This was a new eye- opener for Ranma. (Oh.. so that's makes it rare.) Yet, the eye-opener slowly closed, and faded. (That still doesn't explain what that waters suppose to do, what is it made up of, and/or where it's from exactly.) Is it made up of same kind of water as Lake Fryxell; or is it mixed? Is that why Kuno, is over here, instead of original place where this water was from?)

Ranma shrugged before he lifted his brow trying to make sense of it all. (Okay, so those people found some rare stuff in that water that Kuno, is looking for, for somebody else. But for who? Who could he possibly be down here for?) Ranma shook out of it for a minute, when he focused on something else. (Okay, maybe if I try putting the rest of this chaotic puzzle together. Okay..let's see here.. Dr. Keisuke, and Kuno, are keeping a secret from me.. that's in some document, in that legend, that's in that file; that's based on water, from those ice crystals, from those ice cores...) So, the document was found in Nerima, and the ice crystals were found in Antarctica, at the Ross Ice Shelf, and at Lake Fryxell. The water itself was found elsewhere..found.. is that water from Nerima? Then again, if that water was in Nerima, Kuno, wouldn't have came down in the first place.) Ranma, rolled his eyes along with head as he let out a long sigh. (On the other hand, Kuno, said that he came down here for a different reason. Ranma, couldn't take it anymore. (Ugh..this is driving me crazy. I just can't figure it out..) He began to calm himself again. (Maybe Kuno's right, maybe all the answers aren't in the file after all. He meant it too, and I didn't listen.)

Suddenly, Ranma, jumped up at another conclusion. (Wait a second.. are _they_ the only ones that know? I mean Kuno, took off without saying a word to no one, and Dr. Keisuke is the only one else here that knows. It seems at this point I'm the only one they're keeping the secret from..or is it just because I'm the only one down here or-) Ranma's just then came across something he never realized before. (-wait a minute..do those ice crystals have anything to do with me!?.. cause I can't think of anyone else.. Is that why he won't tell me what's going on? Is that why he won't tell him anything? Then again, what would I have to do with a bunch of ice crystals? On the other hand, maybe my_ ego_ is getting in the way, as Kuno, mentioned before. And as I also mentioned before, Kuno wouldn't come all the down here for my sake, but if that is the case then I have to find him.

Once the storm calmed, and ended; the one that left the eerie fog, and empty- feeling mist behind, Tatewaki, was soon walking back to the Ferrar glacier. He passed through-

{AN: -the well, and entered into Kagome's time..no just kidding. That was stupid; moving on.}

-some rocks, and hill parts when he found himself at the Royal Society Range. Tatewaki, found a spot to rest up when he's thoughts absorbed him once again.

***FLASHBACK***

"_So-" Dr. Keisuke, began. "-tell me all about this Ranma, figure?"_

_Tatewaki, turned his eyes, away aside in obscurity. "I thought we already had this conversation over the phone; what else is there that you need to know?"_

"_All right then, son, just answer me this?" Dr. Keisuke, narrowed his eyes at Tatewaki, with a shrug, as he shook his head. "Why?"_

"_Wherefore?"_

"_Why are you going through all this trouble, coming all the way down here to Antarctica of places, for your nemesis of all people?" Dr. Keisuke, simply shook his head. "It's not every day arch- enemies and rivals alike travel to the driest, coldest place on the planet to find a cure for the other, you know."_

_He shrugged aside. "I guess, I'm just- trying to figure out where I stand with the guy."_

"_So otherwise, you're saying that his cruse has something to do with you; something that you're confused about, so you've came all this way to clear your head."_

"_You have nothing to worry about; my brothers the same way."_

***FLASHBACK END***

(I hast never exactly given him the chance to know that side of me. If he ever did, he wouldn't think it's me. He doesn't even _recognize_ me now; what makes me think he would recognize me then?) A wondering took over his face; Tatewaki, pulled out the picture Ranma, had once more. (I've planned on giving this cure to him anonymously, when I got back. I've sacrificed everything, and left it behind; my secrets, my heart, my soul, my life, everything just to bring to this cureto him; all for him.) Tatewaki's sad, wondering eyes drifted from the picture, to the frozen, white ground. (He'll take it for granted, and take it without a second thought. Nothing else will matter. Everything else will seem pointless, worthless, and, valueless to him. He'll go on with his life, and marry Akane, or whoever he wants to build his life with. And..and I could always stay here in Antarctica; maybe even take over Dr. Keisuke's submarine one day. That's what's expected…right? But with the way things are going there's a chance I won't be back, not just for winter..but never. I always knew where I didn't belong, or where I wasn't wanted. So where exactly do I belong exactly?)

Tatewaki, shook his head in hopeless desperation. (No..not a chance; all Dr. Keisuke, needs is someone to place their burden on him in his old age. In the end, I wouldst be nothing; nothing but a dirty, miserable, old, worn, stained, raggedy, stuffed penguin that has been brushed aside, dejected, neglected, and abandoned; dumped into some sewer someplace along with toxic radioactive garbage, and who knows what.) Tatewaki, simply shook his head. (No, no.. this wasn't enough, even that stuffed penguin could end up with a better life then what I could.)

(I'm sure if Akane, ended up down here all by herself he'll have no problem coming down here to come down here to get her; in fact he'll leave in a heartbeat. He'll do anything to for Akane's attention; and to be honest it doesn't take much. Would he ever truly come down here for my sake? Of course not. Impossible. Highly impractical. Out of the roam of extreme possibility. Why would he? For I am nothing but too weak, and insignificant for his attention, time, or worries. I am sadly, nothing but a nuisance, a pain altogether to him. Not, not even that, for I am nothing to him as I always was.)

Tatewaki was still; he could hardly breathe. (Just when I thought I hit the bottom I die again; slowly over again, and again. (I hate feeling like this; I feel empty, broken, and cold inside; for I let my heart fall, and shatter until it's completely un-repairable. Why do I even brother to live, and suffer, when dying is obviously an option. No, it's _still_ not enough; dying is only the easy way out. If would wore to I live, and suffer through this… it wouldst be harder, much harder, to live like this then to die. I never wanted things to turn out like this. I wish he wouldst come find me, and could see, hear, an understand me, and my reasons, but when I try to reach out I can't find him. For it feels like I'm losing him, more, and more by the second; despite the fact I have nothing to lose. He left me out in this _storm_, just as I left him. Don't hope to find me, for I fear I am abandoned, and already too far gone; gone without a trace. For he's suppose to find me not in the first place, for he exist not. So far from him, for he to acknowledge my _non-existence_ not at all. For right now I feel as if I'm invisible to him, like I'm not real.

Ranma went along the Ferrar glacier, and all around calling out Kuno's name, but the only thing he received back was echoes of his own voice.

"Kuno!?"

To his left. "Oh.. Kuno!?"

To his right. "Yo, you there Kuno?"

To his back. "Oi Kuno!?"

To his front. "Oh.. Kuno!?

"Yo, Upperclassman Kuno!?"

Ranma brought himself down from reaching out, as he pulled himself down into some old memories. (I still remember back then..all those ridiculous speeches you use to give..all those stupid, and crazy things you've said. All those time you use to fight me, for Akane, and _Pigtailed_ girl, with that wooden sword of yours; and how you use to chase them around asking them for dates, and stuff. Not to mention all those insane dates you, and Pigtailed girl, went on.) Ranma felt a small blush across his checks before he simply, smirked it off. (I don't know why, but those things just keep running through my mind. You use to be there, everywhere..even pop up when I least expected; even when I had tried to push you away, and now..now look at us... we're all alone, freezing cold, and all depressed, and whatnot.)

(Call me crazy, but I think I'm starting to actually miss the guy. I wish he were here right now.. I really, really mis- oh no..) Ranma held himself back this time. (Don't tell me that this place is starting to have an effect on me now.) Ranma shook his head feeling as if he lost it for good. (What am I thinking?..ugh..better stop thinking, and start searching again.)

"Kuno!?"

"Kuno!?"

"You there Kuno!?"

The lost echoes simply repeated out in the Antarctica air.

Tatewaki slowly, got up has he dragged his emotional melancholy along. He passed the Bowers piedmont glaciers, but on the other side. After that, he soon came to the Blue Glacier; taking it, he found himself at a snow bridge that crossed over the McMurdo Sounds, to the McMurdo Ice Shelf.

{AN: Which isn't really there that I know of; I just put the snow bridge there.}

Tatewaki stepped out onto the snow bridge; crossing it he shouted out Ranma's name. Conversely, instead of an reply back from Ranma, the only thing that replied back to him, was his own echoes.

"Saotome!?"

He turned left. "Ranma Saotome!?"

He turned to his right. "Ranma!?"

He turned behind him. "Art thou there Saotome!?"

He turned back to his front. "Ranma!?"

It was useless, hopeless, aimless, lifeless, and all the above. The lost echoes simply remained there forever lost.

Tatewaki soon feel to his knees when his tears reached his eyes. The far- away, overwhelming, mind-bottling effect finally, perfected Tatewaki's misery. A few snowflakes dropped on his face; it rolled down along with the tears that soon came with it. Tatewaki, held out his right, shaky-gloved hand as he studied the wet spots that dripped in them; not mention the ones that had hit the snow, and ice beneath him. (What's are these tears? What is this feeling? What is this- this pain; this- this sadness? Why do I feel so suffocated? Why does my heart ache like so? Tatewaki clenched his wet hand, and held to his heart along with a confused blush on his face. (Wherefore is it beating so fast?)

Tatewaki closed his wet-drippy eyes. (I've never felt _this way_ before; not for anyone.) The tears never stopped. (I miss him..I can't believe how much I miss him right now. I miss his voice, his words, and those eyes that use to cling onto mine. I miss those little talks we use to have. I just miss him like I never had. I even miss his arrogant egotistical, overconfident, superior- rash shelf.) Tatewaki smirked at the memories, but a smirk that eventually left. (I miss the way we use to fight day by day; I miss his stubborn, repulsive ways. I miss everything we did back in those days. I miss everything about him; for even the face I know so well is missing too. Indeed, I pretend for him to stay, for he feels so real, but he's anything other than.

(I need him. I need him _so much_ right now; need to feel him here with me. I want to keep him here next to me. What I would do have to have him near me; to hold him close, wrap my hands around his..keep him safe in this unsustainable, unsubstantial environment. What is this desperation thrown upon me? All in all, all I wanted was him..for him to be happy, and to live a good life.)

(I never thought I had anything to lose, but now it feels as if I'm losing something; something deep inside of me...)

(Him...)

(He's the one I'm missing.)

(I can't explain it, but right now all I know is that I can't give up on him..no matter what; even if it means going through such hardships. I'll just have to keep pretending, and keep on going; believing that I hast some kind of meaning..I have to break on through. One way or another, Ranma, is going to eventually know the truth, and I myself am going to have to face that.)

Tatewaki finally, slowly stood up, he knew what he had to do. Walking across the snow bridge, he started calling out Ranma's name, once again, to see if he had been anywhere nearby.

"Ranma!?"

"Ranma!?"

"Are ye there Ranma!?"

"Ranma!?"

He continued his way towards the middle of the snow bridge, and without notice, had stepped onto a weak spot; he called out once more when the snow bridge, underneath him, started to move. "Ra- ahhh!"


	7. Hypothermia Crevasses Rescue

Chapter Six: Slippery Snow Bridge Crevasses: Rescue Deliverance of Hypothermia!

By the time Ranma, reached the Blue Glacier, the light from his electronic tracker turned green. (So Kuno's on this glacier someplace.) Ranma kept on fallowing the Blue Glacier, not to mention his electronic tracker until he heard a voice.

"Ra-Ahh!" Ranma looked around when he finally found Kuno, on the snow bridge. "Kuno!"

Ranma tried calling out at him again. "Yo, Kuno!" And again.. "What are you doing up there?"

Tatewaki heard Ranma, quiet well, but he couldn't move. (One step, and I might be done for.)

This time Ranma, studied the situation rather oddly. (What's he _doing_ up there?)

Tatewaki took a deep breath. (Then again..I could be wrong..) he slowly, slid his foot back on more secure, glacial ground when he finally slipped through the cracks falling through the snow bridge crevasses. "Ahh!"

Ranma's eyes almost dropped out of his sockets as he gasp; words were beyond him. "Uh- Oh my God, Kuno." Ranma quickly made the rest of his way down to the edge Blue Glacier when he saw Tatewaki, struggling to lift himself out of the water. Ranma stuck his hand out to him. "Here, grab on?"

Tatewaki's red, tired, ice-daggered, snake-like eyes handed Ranma, a bitter- icy-cold glare; he shivered like never before. He only snapped at him sulky, resentment before he pushed it away. "I don't want your hand, Saotome! I can save myself!"

Ranma's eyes grew huge; he couldn't believe what he just heard. (He did not just- I can't believe this.) Ranma, rolled his eyes aside with a sigh. "Oh, come on Kuno, don't be so stupid. Grab my hand, so I can pull you out before you freeze to death in there."

"I rather say in here, and freeze."

"How can you possibly say that!?"

"How can you possibly save me; you're not real!"

Ranma couldn't bear to hear anymore. (He's not serious!?) "Yes I am!"

"No you're not!"

"If you'll just let me prove it to you; if you just let me help you out!" Ranma shouted back over to him.

Tatewaki shook his head; he shivered so much he couldn't move. Weakened in his state Tatewaki, soon slipped off, and went down under.

Ranma's eyes expanded again. "No.. Kuno!" Ranma waited for a few seconds to see if he would've popped back up, but nothing. "No!" Ranma's eyes shook; now he was the one that couldn't move. "No..Kuno.." Tears streamed down his face as they hit the water, and glacial grounds beneath him. Kuno!" Ranma closed his eyes as he shook his head. (No! No! Okay, crying ain't gonna do me any good; there's gotta be some way to get him out of there. At least try. (But what can I possibly do?) Ranma studied the water, and then the snow bridged when some flashbacks dawned upon him.

***FLASHBACK***

_Tatewaki, atomically went back to his sled, before he pulled out some hooks, ropes, and last but not least a harness. "I say we climb over it."_ _Ranma, on the other hand atomically, snapped right up at Tatewaki. "Climb over it! What if we fall through it? There's nothing down here? Are you trying to get us killed!?"_ _Tatewaki, sat everything up, and tied everything down; he turned right to Ranma. _ "_You, first."_

_Ranma, turned to Tatewaki, in disbelief before he socked him . "Only in your dreams frosty head; you go first."_

"_Withal, who knows when we'll end up crossing another one. Consider as the challenge Saotome; this will be good practice."_ _Ranma, eyed Tatewaki, in irritation, and suspicion. "Ugh.. alright I get your point; I'll go down first. It's not like it's a challenge trying to get it back from you anyway."_ _Tatewaki, cleared his throat. "Good, not we're clear on things let's get started."_ _Tatewaki, led Ranma, over with the rope, with safe communication calls along the way._ "_I'm over, you can stop now!" Ranma, called out._

"_Very well then," Tatewaki, called back out_.

***FLASHBACK END***

(That's it! If he can't grab onto the side.. then he can grab onto the rope, and I can pull him out that way.) Ranma stood up. "Hey, you! I'm not gonna just stand here, and watch you die on me; you understand that Kuno! You hear me Kuno!" This time Ranma, ran to his sled, pulled out his rope, and quickly tossed the rope up, and over into the water. "Come on Kuno.. come on.. grab the rope." (Come on you..) A few more seconds past. "Come on Kuno, you can do it..just reach the rope..the rope.." Ranma slowly, brought himself back to the glacial ground in more tears. "No. No. No. No. No. No." This time Ranma shouted out of nowhere. "Kuno!" Yet, once again, the only thing that was brought back to him was the lost echoes of Antarctica.

Ranma only lowed himself the glacial ground, once more, as huddled himself into a snowball. "No. No. No. No. No. No. No... No. No. No .No. No. No. No."

As silent as a fish, Ranma, never seen it coming, but finally felt it..defiantly felt it; the tug on the rope. Ranma, looked up with anxious hope."Huh?" A hand popped out in the fallowing; one that was very well attached to the rope. Ranma's eyes widened. (There's no way he's-) The thought came as soon as it left. It didn't even take less than a second for Ranma, to react. Ranma, automatically grabbed his left hand, and the rope with his right, and soon pulled Tatewaki up, and out of the water.

{AN: Now that's what I call _out of the roam of extreme possibility_.}

The moment Tatewaki got out he bent over on his knees, and coughed up water to no end. Ranma, at first watched him get it all out before he patted his back trying help him relax. After that, Ranma, atomically brought Tatewaki, right into his arms holding him in close for warmth. A good thirty minutes went by while tears streamed down their faces as they in each other arms. Once, Ranma, got a hold of things again he pulled out. He brought his hands, and his wet face up by Kuno's. Ranma, looked deep into those sad- lifeless eyes before he finally spoke. "We're gonna get you back, okay? We're going get whatevers in those damn ice crystals, and then get the hell on out of here; okay Kuno?"

Tatewaki nodded, but the minute he looked back up at Ranma, his trembling words took a different tune. "No..."

Ranma handed him an off look. "What? Huh? Did you just say no?"

Tatewaki brought his arms back to himself as he held himself, and trembled. "We- can't."

"What do you mean we can't!?" Ranma snapped out in exclamation.

"We won't make it like this," Tatewaki's voiced lowered, and softened.

"And why the hell not!?" Ranma stormed out in questionable expression.

Tatewaki shuddered trialing on his explanation. "It's too far.." Tatewaki, looked down aside into deep, hallow shadows; he started to lose his voice. "You'll have to go on without me..for I fear I won't make it."

Ranma pulled Tatewaki, in again; holding him closer, and tighter. He, pulled himself slightly away again as he brought one hand to the side of his face another time. "No, Kuno, we're going to make. You're going make it; you hear me?"

Tatewaki nodded in extreme doubt before he felt Ranma shake him this time. "We're going to make it. I promise."

Tatewaki slightly, turned his head away. (Maybe it would've been if I just let myself drown.) Along with that his hoarse voice had spoken."Don't make promises you can't keep."

Ranma forced Tatewaki, towards him this time in serious demanded. "I _promise_." Ranma, slipped his other hand back on the other side of his face.

"I can't be out here for much longer," Tatewaki added in a husky tone.

Ranma turned around with his hands out. "Come on you let's wormed up." Tatewaki pulled himself half-way on Ranma, when Ranma, finished helping him on his back. (He's soaking wet.)

{Yeah, Ranma, doesn't change; I'm letting it slide this time; cause after all this work, and after all the extra editing I had to do...I just don't care.}

"Man, we really need to get you out of those clothes," Ranma pulled a look towards the exhausted, depressed, shivering boy. "Where is your sled at buddy, humph?"

"At the edge of the snow bridge," Tatewaki answered back the best he could.

Ranma's eyes widened back at Tatewaki. "Seriously!?" Tatewaki simply nodded. "And how are we suppose to get that?"

Tatewaki shook his head. "We don't."

"But what about the ice cores?"

"Forget the ice cores."

"Are you kidding me? Isn't that why you're risking everything, if not your life in the first place to find those ice cores?"

Tatewaki grew tired, very tired as he simply nodded again.

"Look, Kuno, after I put up my tent, and get you settled I can come back for them. Just tell me what I need to do?"

"Just forget about them. Contact Dr. Keisuke, he'll fill you out- on the- rest," Tatewaki's eyes were nearly closing. Ranma noticed the sudden silence, and eyed near behind him to see that he was more than ready to pass out.

"Hey, don't you faint on me now," Ranma, implied on demanded.

"Um.."

Ranma tried to shake him awake. "Try staying awake okay, Kuno."

No comment.

"Please Kuno?"

No answer.

"For me, Kuno."

"Um..um.." Tatewaki's eyes finally came to a close, and had finally passed out.

Ranma didn't even have to look behind to see that Tatewaki, had passed out. The bodyweight of Tatewaki's body said it all. (Shit..how out all the times for him to pass- out on me.) Ranma wasn't sure what to do, expected one thing, and one thing alone. Ranma, dug through his Antarctic coat pocket, yet again, to contact Dr. Keisuke. "Dr. Keisuke.. Dr. Keisuke..

Another voice came through the other end; one that wasn't horse or scratchy in any way. "You sound troubled, what's wrong?"

"Kuno fell through a snow bridge, and he just fainted on me, and so now I'm not sure what to do?"

"The first thing is to do is to get him out of the cold, wind, and rain; the sooner the better."

"I'm heading up to my sled now; will he be fine in a tent though?"

"He should be fine as long as you keep him as dry as possible; which means you're going to have remove all his clothes, and put dry ones on him."

Ranma paused for a minute. "Wait a minute.._everything_?" Ranma bit on his lip.

"Everything," Dr. Keisuke, toned in all seriousness. "If he wakes up.._if he wakes up_ keep him awake, and keep him from getting any colder; during then I'll send a rescue team down for you two, okay. Whatever you do stay there.

(Well that's gonna be a bit awkward, but I guess I'm not gonna have much of a choice.)

"Okay, but there's another problem, Kuno's sled is at the edge snow bridge where collapse at, and the other two ice cores are in there."

"The rescue them will retrieve anything missing," Dr. Keisuke, answered at last. "I'm calling the search team up now; if there's anything else you need let me know."

"All right," Ranma put his transceiver away before he let out a long sigh. (I warned him that he could get seriously hurt out here. If he only he wasn't being so stubborn, and had let me pull him out. He wouldn't be this bad off right now.) After that, another thought came flying at him. (Huh..never thought I'd see the day where I had to _fish_ him out anything before...especially in Antarctica, of all places.)

A few minutes later, Ranma, finally arrived at his sled, and quickly pulled everything off; he placed Tatewaki, on it with an extra blanket thrown upon him. Ranma soon pulled out his tent, and sat it up. Afterwards, once Ranma, was done fixing everything up he went to bring Tatewaki, next. Carrying him like before, Ranma, entered the tent, and placed him on the extra blanket that was just over him before. (Okay, now that I got him out of the cold, I have to, now, get these wet clothes off of him.) After the thought retraced back in Ranma's mind, an odd look arose up in Ranma as he cringed. (I thought this would be easier then what it actually is..but If I don't do this he might die.) Ranma anxiously swallowed. (Okay then.) Then he took a deep breath as he cracked his knuckles. (Here goes nothing.)

Finally, with the removal of Tatewaki's wet clothing, Ranma, finally grabbed the set of dry clothes that was next to him, and started dressing him back up. The next thing Ranma, grabbed was one of his under-layered shirts. He paused for a minute as he studied the boy in front of him. Once when he realized he couldn't control the blush on his face, he squeezed his eyes shut, and shook his head. The moment he reopened them he automatically looked at the shirt he had held within in hand. (Okay, on you go.) Afterwards, Tatewaki, was soon placed his sleeping bag. Ranma, simply sat next to it, studying the hypothermic man. A sad frown took over his face; he simply looked down, and away to the side. (All of this mess, over some stupid file. Too bad his file was at the broken end of that snow bridge.) Ranma simply shook his head. (No, it would've been wrong for me to be sneaking into any of his stuff right now.) He closed his eyes for a minute as he sighed. (If only I knew.)

Just then Ranma noticed a piece of photographic paper that had been at the edge of the sleeping bag. (Huh? I wonder when I lost this.. or whenever Kuno, took from me?) Ranma studied the picture for a moment, comparing it to the hypothermic boy. (How did it ever come to this?) Ranma closed his eyes once more before he let out a short sigh.

He reopened his eyes as he studied the motionless body, yet, again. (Um...I guess I better check his temperature.) Ranma slowly, lifted his hand as he felt Tatewaki's forehead. (He's still freezing cold.) His expression clearly, dropped. (I don't know what else I can possibly do?) By this point, Ranma, simply lowered himself down to Tatewaki, as he laid there next to him. Melancholic, hopelessness froze to him; he placed his hand over Tatewaki's sleeping-bag covered chest as he rubbed it back, and forth; tears soon streamed down his face once again. Conversely, Ranma, was comfortable, and worm; his eyes began to shut when the rescue team had just flown in.

At Submarine Lab

Ranma stood starting at the door that Tatewaki, was on the other side of. He watched it filled with worry, concern, and anxiousness. The apprehensiveness was agonizing him to the end. When Ranma, couldn't take it anymore he turned to Dr. Keisuke, who at the time, seemed too preoccupied with his experiments. "Kuno, is over there with doctors doing _who knows what_ to him, and you're messin' around with a bunch of stupid ice cores. Aren't they suppose to be taking him to a hospital, or somethin'?"

Dr. Keisuke turned to Ranma. "I am concerned for Tatewaki's well being; the least I can do is carry out his _wishes_. I say it's best to let them do their job for now, and once they're done we can go in, and visit him."

Ranma's eyes drifted from Dr. Keisuke, back to the door.

Behind it, Tatewaki's was in a worm bath while the rescue team's doctors, and surgeons were monitoring him around the clock. When the time came, the two doctors where both on the account for arterial, blood gases, blood count, prothrombin time. Glucose, electrolytes, blood urea, nitrogen, serum creatinine, amylase, liver function, ECG, chest radiograph, and last but not least urinalysis test.

One doctor injected him warm intravenous fluids of solution of saltwater (saline) into one of his veins to help worm the blood; approximately fifteen to twenty- two ml/hr.

{AN: If I got that right.}

The second doctor provided him with humidified oxygen that came with a mask connected to a nasal tube, so that they could worm his airways, and raise temperature in the rest of his body.

The other four rescue- team members were setting up his bed, and setting up heating blanks, chemical hot packs, on the stand nearby. For whatever test couldn't have been done at the time; it would've taken care of once Tatewaki, was out of the tub. Sadly enough, Tatewaki, wasn't anywhere close.

Ranma paced back, and forth obviously more worried about Tatewaki, then he'd like to admit. Ranma dug his hand in his pocket when he pulled out Tatewaki' s picture. Ranma, notice Dr. Keisuke, watching in curiosity. Ranma, shrugged aside. "He found it, you know;" Ranma turned back to the picture before another notion made him vein. "He also found his tin cylinder, and kept it to himself; that's how this whole mess began in the first place."

"You didn't look his file while he was out?" Dr. Keisuke, asked, questioning Ranma's methods.

"Na, I saw too worried about him to think about anything else-" Ranma quickly covered his mouth. (What did I just say? What did I just say? I didn't just say that? Did I?) Ranma read the looks Dr. Keisuke, gave him. Ranma, stepped back. "I meant, it was on the edge of that bridge with the rest of his stuff, and I couldn't get to it." Ranma scowled, and threw a mean narrow at Dr. Keisuke."Don't you dear tell him I just said that."

"I think you could've if you wanted it bad enough," Dr. Keisuke added in cleverly, but that didn't necessarily make him wrong.

Ranma expression never changed. "What's that suppose to mean?"

"You come all the way down here just to bring him back; and when you ended up stuck on this adventure with him you saved his life. You could've just let him die, and went for his file instead..but you didn't. It means you care." Dr. Keisuke attached on in explanation.

Ranma flushed, and snapped back at him. "Hey, that's enough of that. Besides, if you think I _care_ _oh so much_ then I think I should finally know what's in that file of his!"

"Sorry, I can't do that to Kuno; and you can't expect me to," Dr. Keisuke, pressed in, in all honesty.

"At least tell me what the document was about?"

"It was about the legend: Ice Crystals of Mixed Seas," Dr. Keisuke, answered in a obvious tone.

Ranma closed his eyes frustrated. (Okay, let's try this another way.) "What's in that water? And what does this have to do with me?"

Dr. Keisuke looked up from his lab, to Ranma."Did Tatewaki, say that you had anything to do with this?"

"Well..erm..no, I just- it seems you guys are keeping secrets from me, about me. I just don't see what I have to do with a bunch of legendary ice crystals."

"You don't have anything to do with these _ice crystals_," Dr. Keisuke, cut in short. (At least, not practically the ice crystals themselves.)

Ranma went over to the lab table, and leaned over to towards Dr. Keisuke. What's in that water, huh doc?

"Something-"

"Oh let me guess, rare, legendary, scarce ..heard it all doc."

"It's something you'll have to discuss with Tatewaki," Dr. Keisuke cleverly messing with Ranma, this time; but even that didn't necessarily make it not true.

Ranma clenched his fist together. "Tell me now before I beat it out of you, you ol' man!"

Suddenly a surgeon came in, followed by the main doctor. Dr. Keisuke poked his head up at Ranma, hinting to him that they had visitors. Ranma, turned around to face the two, and had finally walked up to them; Dr. Keisuke simply fallowed behind him.

"How's he doing?" Ranma asked in concerned, demanding wonderment.

The surgeon, and doctor exchanged looks.

"He's in a coma?" The surgeon slowly, stated.

Ranma's eyes expanded before he stepped back. "He's what!?"

Ranma stepped forward to them this time. "He's what!?"

"Please calm down," The doctor ordered for Tatewaki's piece.

"How the hell did he get into a coma," Ranma started to make his way past them. "I wanna see him!"

Yet, there were two other people, from the rescue team, who had held him back.

"From his Hypothermia, so settle down," the doctor declared again.

Ranma pushed harder trying to escape their grasp. "No, I wanna see him."

Just then Dr. Keisuke, walked in front of him. "Now- now there's no need to get all worked up;" Dr. Keisuke turned to the rest. "For how long?"

The doctor, and surgeon, exchanged more looks.

Ranma shouted out at them this time. "How long!?"

"It's a coma; it could be hours, days, weeks, months, years, who knows," the doctor started up.

"According to his condition, it should take up to only six hours.. maybe more. A coma at this state is only comatose, but it could change. Now his hypothermia, is moderate to severe; he came in at thirty-two degrees, but now he's at thirty-six. It's good, but it's slower then what we usually monitor," the surgeon explained.

Ranma blinked before he asked another question."What's the normal temperature?"

"Ninety-eight to a hundred," the doctor answered back.

Ranma snapped at them again. "And he's only at thirty- six!?"

"You have to give him time," the surgeon said in a composed voice.

"Isn't there anything else that you can do?" Ranma asked him.

"We took all the necessary procedures we need to in order to treat him for now; if he doesn't have half of his body heat within the next thirty minutes there are few more things we can try."

"Why can't you just go in there, and do it now!?" Ranma threw in aggressively.

"If we precede too fast it'll kill him!" the doctor exclaimed in a demanding tone.

Ranma handed them looks he had never given anymore before. He didn't wanna hear that; he didn't wanna hear it at all. "He wasn't under the water for _that_ long."

"He's had hypothermia long before he fell through the snow bridge; the water he had fell into only made his condition worse," the doctor cleared out. Ranma blinked in an unexpected surprise.

"He did?"

"We suspect about a week ago," the doctor eyed his watch before he nodded the surgeon back into the other room.

Dr. Keisuke turned to Ranma. "He never mentioned anything to you."

Ranma shook his head. "He may not have notice, especially if he ended up delirious from being here for so long."

It didn't take even less than half of a second for the words to reach Ranma's ears. "He is delirious; he's hallucinating a fake me; he thinks I'm not real!"

"Are you sure he's not just highly delusional?" the doctor asked in reassurance.

"If he were, he wouldn't be acting as if Ranma, where there," Dr. Keisuke, answered at last.

"Has he been lost in himself lately? Lost in the world? Too far for anyone to reach?"

"Lost in-" Ranma, thought back. "Well I know that he isn't acting like himself." (Well I guess that would explain what he's doing all the way in Antarctica.)"Humph..it's almost as if they replaced the guy for someone else who looks just like him."

"It's the weather around here; it had thrown them off track before," Dr. Keisuke, cutted in.

"Has he shown any signs of in behavioral, or mood changes?"

"Well if you're asking if he's been depressed for the past few days.. I've never seen him like _this_ before."

"Has he been experiencing any other hallucinations; what about paranoia?"

"Well I know he was paranoid about me taking his stupid file, so he switched them out back at some other crevasse; we wouldn't be in all this mess right now if he hadn't," Ranma, explained in a small bitter tone.

"Do you know why he's here?" The doctor asked farther on.

Ranma scowled in vein."I have _no_ idea! Why won't you try asking him, or that old prune over there yourself; cause I'm the only one around here whose not getting any answers to _anything_!?"

Dr. Keisuke just then walked up to answer his question. "Oh.." The doctor's eyes shot open, and replied. "Well that sure explains a lot." He handed Ranma, a look.

Ranma looked at the doctor, back to scientist, back to the doctor again. "What?" Then he aimed his eyes at Dr. Keisuke. "What'd you tell him?"

"It's Doctor-Patient confidentiality."

"What? That makes no sense; cause that's only suppose to be between doctor, and patient."

"I'm the exception, because of everything that Tatewaki, had told me," Dr. Keisuke pressed in.

Ranma eyed the two with nothing but suspicion. "So, I am in this after all, huh?"

Just then the doctor switched the topic trying to throw Ranma off himself. "Has he have any sleep disturbances?"

Ranma eyed him with an off look. "Sometimes."

Another doctor came out. "His temperature just went up a few."

The doctor that was with Dr. Keisuke, and Ranma, turned to the one that was standing by the door."To what?"

"To forty- two."

"That's good, but not good enough," the surgeon expressed in seriousness.

"Well you can say that again!" Ranma pointed out disappointed once again.

The doctor turned to Ranma, for a minute before the other doctor, and the surgeon finally left back in the room.

Ranma watched the door closed with gloom written all over his . Keisuke, went back to the table he was working on when he noticed Ranma, still standing there motionless. "He'll be fine."

Ranma jerked a bit before he turned to the scientist. He slowly, walked on over to see what he was experimenting on. His eyes continued to scan the table to see lab equipment, and chemicals spread throughout. That's a lot of stuff."

Dr. Keisuke looked up from one of the chemical bottles he was holding. "There's more of it in the next room with the S.C.U.B.A gear.

Ranma blinked without a clue of what was going on. "So, what kind of experiment are you working on exactly, again?"

"I have to find the perfect balance throughout these chemicals, and the ice cores you two brought down." Ranma narrowed while the next question came to him in disbelief. "And Kuno, wanted you to do this?"

Dr. Keisuke shrugged before he replied back in response. "I'm the only one who can."

Ranma folded in his arms before he aimed his narrowed eyes at Dr. Keisuke. "So, what'd he pay you?"

Dr. Keisuke glanced from another bottle to Ranma. "The truth." Dr. Keisuke, put thebottle down before he walked through the room he mentioned before. He came as soon as he left; with an X- ray machine, and transparent plate; that came with decently, sized large light.

"What's that for?"

"X- rays."

"Don't people usually have to leave the room before they take X- rays?"

"That won't be necessary, but you will need some protection." Dr. Keisuke, pulled out two iron vest- like jackets, and handed it to Ranma. "Here ..all you need is to be exposed without any protection."

{AN: You know, kind of like what the dentist do.}

Ranma looked down at his vest with an awaked look on his face. "Uh..thanks."

Dr. Keisuke eventually had everything hooked up; he took as many X- rays he needed with each ice core, and then started the stratigraphy. One at a time, he placed core on the transparent tray. It was atomically scanned; and then shown on an old- fashion monitor he had. After all that Dr. Keisuke, went to release the iron vest off of Ranma, and went to put the vest, and everything else back; everything else except for the monitor. During this time, it took a few minutes before Dr. Keisuke, came back. This time he came back with another old fashion machine. He measure each temperature of the ice cores, to the previous ones in the past; the ones that were on the charts. Once he was done he checked the chart to see if snowfall had took place; then he searched for patterns of wind speed, direction, and strength. At last, he tested for or radioisotopes; measuring them on the _electronic_ balancer he had.

Suspicions, inpatients, and soon control had all left Ranma. "What the hell does this have to do with Kuno?"

"It has nothing to do with Kuno."

"Look, old man, this has nothing to do with me."

"I never said it did." Ranma dropped his head before he let out a exhausted sigh. "I give up."

The doctor, and surgeon walked out with more problems. The two exchanged looks when Ranma caught on clearly, reading the expression on their faces.

"What's wrong?"

He's wormer, but not as much as we expected. He's only at forty- two now, when he should've- well..been to _at least_ by sixty-five by now," The doctor let out first.

"We tried to clean out his system by using cavity lavage; we were expecting to bring the blood back up to normal speed, but he's not getting much from it."

"There is one last thing we can do, and it's risky procedure, but we might just save him," the surgeon explained.

"What procedure?" Ranma question off wanting to know more on what was going on. Yet, before anymore of his queries have been answered, the door from the patient's room opened; the perfusionist came out.

"It isn't enough, his body temperature just went back down to thirty- nine. We're going to have to go with our last option, and do a cardiopulmonary bypass."

"Huh? Do Cardio what?" Ranma asked as he try to resound the word in his head.

"Cardiopulmonary bypass," Dr. Keisuke repeated for him.

Ranma demanded on information. "Well, what is that?"

"It's a surgical procedure, to-" the perfusionist was about to go on father explanation before Ranma, had cut him off.

"Surgery!? What's he gonna need surgery for ?" Ranma interrogated under pressure, alarmed.

"In order to re-worm his blood," the perfusionist answered back. "In order to do that we're going to draw his blood, warm it up, and have it recalculated back into his body. And in order to do that we're going to cut a selection of his blood vessels to create a pathway, so we can hook for the two cannulas to them. The two cannulas are connected to a machine that basically pumps like human heart. The pump will be filled with worm oxygen. One of the cannulas, collects blood that would return to his heart, and the rest to his lungs. The second one, feeds the oxygenated blood back into the body."

Ranma, wore an odd, twisted face hearing about Tatewaki's blood being wormed, and returned to him. No less, he only caught on half of what the perfusionist said. "So you guys are going to connect Kuno, to some kind of machine, to bump worm blood back into his body?"

"More, or less." Dr. Keisuke, cleared his throat, when the _doctors_ turned to him.

The three exchanged looks clearly, knowing what was on Dr. Keisuke's mind.

"Now what is it?" Ranma pushed in worked up.

The three exchanged looks once again.

Ranma clenched his hands to his sides."Tell me what it is!?"

"This isn't your ordinary surgery," the doctor began. Ranma, pressed on his interrogation. "What do you mean not ordinary!?"

"It' s a surgical bypass," the surgeon gave out little by little.

Ranma looked at them obtaining a really bad feeling himself. "What's a bypass?"

"It means we're going to have stop his heart - during the procedure- through the use of chemicals." the perfusionist explained at last.

Everything grew silent for that minute. Everyone saw the reaction on Ranma's face. Ranma never looked so unsettled, so upset in his life. Panic jolt him, anxiety stressed him, nerves stained him, and anxiousness pushed him over the_ vexed_ edge "Stop his heart!? I thought you guys were suppose to cure him, not kill him." He, came up closer to the perfusionist. "Can't you think of anything else!?"

"Look the only way we're going to save your friend-"

The doctor cleared his throat before he went on over, and whispered the same thing Dr. Keisuke, said, to the perfusionist, and the surgeon.

"Oh/Ohh.." The two turned to Ranma, in surprised.

Ranma stared at the two rather perplexed. "What?"

The surgeon smirked; the perfusionist, on the other hand, answered in a way he knew Ranma, wouldn't understand. "Don't worry..he's gonna be _just_ fine."

Ranma eyed at the three in animosity. "So which one of you lunatics are going to be stopping his heart, huh?"

"That would be us," the surgeon, replied referring to him, and perfusionist.

Ranma jumped right up by the two, and snapped out of the tense fear, and stress. "You better _not_ let him _die_; you hear me!?"

Everyone answered back to Ranma. "He's going to be just fine!"

Ranma stood there at a halt, looking rather surprised; he then stepped back before he mumbled along. "He better be."

The doctor, sergeant, and perfusionist finally, left back into Tatewaki's room.

The surgeon, and the perfusionist gather the surgical equipment together, before the doctor called out to the other. "We need to take him out of the tub."

The two doctors finally got together when they removed Tatewaki, from the tub, and placed him onto the table. The head doctor hooked him up to more IV's before the surgeon, and perfusionist started on his cardiopulmonary surgical bypass.

It was a new world, a different world, a fantastic world, This mystic land was quiet exotic, dream- like. Well of course it was, it had to be; it was a dream after all. The place was untouched, pure, and serene. Calm, tranquil, and peaceful; not to mention quiet relaxing. The place looked empty; the sounds, ambient vibes, and interruptions where all dissimilar. Dissimilar in a way it was way past beyond the roam of extreme possibility.

The environment was like bizarre; the impressions gave off a twilight- video- game zone; set at all sorts of different dimensions. The light blue sky, and cool breeze past Tatewaki, as he stood there on the slick smooth ice. The blazing sun shined down on it, and the snowy white sawtooth mountains, and stood out oddly in the background. Not to mention the dry cave up ahead; compared to the dry grounds at Lake Fryxell. There was a lake there filled with dark blue icy-cold water. It had an broken iceberg in the middle of it, with a super- dolly-zoom sized penguin in the middle of in. There were other penguins around on the same ice Tatewaki, was on; they were smaller, much smaller. The place enclosed on Tatewaki, as he felt trapped in a giant glacial box, with penguins all around him.

Tatewaki was still; his eyes hung open in disbelief. (Jin?) Tatewaki slowly, looked up to the top where the penguins head casting a block between the intense, vivid sun. In spite of this, the penguin kept moving; making Tatewaki, squint at the sun; the one that practically blind him. The penguin started to squawk out something to him, but Tatewaki, couldn't hear him, and he couldn't understand. It was as if he were the penguin this time. Tatewaki tried to ask what was going on, but he couldn't even hear his own voice; he didn't even know he couldn't hear his own voice. The dream grew in, and pulled Tatewaki, deeper, and deeper into it; vanishing into a black hole; as of now he couldn't see anything.

Dr. Keisuke, simply, went on ahead to the second part of his experiment. This time he was comparing, and matching chemicals; through a sub-type of active, and passive transport; seeing which elements would weigh more, less, and/or fall evenly. The more even, and stable, the better chances of Ranma's cure.

"Are you still going to continue this-" Ranma glanced at the door back the scientist. "-if he doesn't make it?"

Dr. Keisuke paused for a moment, and then gazed up at him. "Yes; I would. I don't see any reason not to."

This atomically lead Ranma, to his next question. "Would I be able to look at his file then?"

Dr. Keisuke nodded. "Absolutely."

Ranma stepped back surprised. "Really?"

Dr. Keisuke nodded along once again. "He would've wanted me to."

"So you're saying the _only_ way I'm going to find out what's in that file, is if Kuno, dies?" Ranma's toned in seriously.

"Not at all. All I'm saying is that if Tatewaki, somehow doesn't make it, that I would be the only one to give it to you, because I'm the only other person who knows everything Tatewaki, isn't telling you." Dr. Keisuke, stacked some papers together before he added to his explanation. "No matter what, you'll find out one way, or the other."

"Why can't you just tell me now then?"

"Because, Tatewaki's is technically still alive," Dr. Keisuke answered before he added on more explanation. "And in this case, it's only up to him to show you what's in his file." At last, Dr. Keisuke, gathered his chemical substance he called: Ross Sea, Yellow River, Lake Fryxell, and ice cores as Jusenkyo's waters. (There at least has to be one of these elements that would be even, and stable enough in Jusenkyo's waters to cure him.)

Papers that contained information of an estimate of Ranma's height, weight, different diameters, lengths, and widths to see how much his other half needed to be cured. It also contained the amount in the Lake Fryxell's water in the ice crystal, and also the amount of Jusenkyo's waters within them. In addition, to the amount of the waters of the Ross Sea, Yellow River, Lake Fryxell, McMurdo sound, of the older samples he took before. Not to mention their mass, and other chemical variables inside the chemicals.

{AN: Gotta watch out for those variables now.)

And, so, with the chemically crushed/shaved ice, thermometer's, Bunsen burners, hot plates, heat, flasks', condensers, filers, beakers', test tubes', vials', and the dropper, Dr. Keisuke, finally began the next part of his experiment.

First, he filled each bottom half of the four beakers with Jusenkyo's crushed/shaved ice; all within the same measurement. Secondly, he pour the first beaker into one out of the four flask he had. He placed it near over the hot plate; the one that sat within distance of the Bunsen burner. Using the heat at a decent temperature, it slowly melted the Jusenkyo's crushed/shaved ice _into cursed_ hydrogen oxide, dihydrogen monoxide, Hydrogen monoxide, Hydrogen hydroxide..and whatever other names you can come up with water.

{AN: Dihydrogen Monoxide- read it again; cause I don't any messages about it.}

After he melted the water, he used a condenser to cool it, and used his filter to filter it into the flask, and then back into the beaker once again. In the following, Dr. Keisuke, took his dropper, and obtain a small sample of it, and then placed it in a separate vial from the rest he had for further study.

Ranma kept a close watch on what he was doing while trying to figure out what it had to do with Tatewaki's file.

Dr. Keisuke did the same for all four beakers before he moved onto the chemicals. Fallowing along the route of the legend, he started with the waters from the Yellow River first. Since it was just water, instead of crushed/shaved ice from the ice core, Dr. Keisuke, simply wormed the water to same temperature; then using the condenser again, he cooled it, and filtered it into another flask before the water finally hit the top of the water from Jusenkyo, within the first beaker.

Ranma continued to watch lost in continuous question.

Dr. Keisuke did the same with the rest of the chemicals, until all four beakers were full. Taking a sample from each, Dr. Keisuke, placed each sample into the test tubes. After that he took one test tube at a time, and filled up each vial at a time until all four vials were full. Onwards, he placed them in all in the freezer for further study. Carefully, observing the beakers he watched the chemicals slowly react with each. It took a good few minute, but what Dr. Keisuke, was looking for he found. "I found it."

Ranma oddly, eyed the beakers."Found what?" He leaned over to take a closer look. "So Kuno, was willing to put himself through all this mess..just for that?"

Dr. Keisuke turned to Ranma. "It was an accident."

Ranma looked away with his eyes shut. "Seemed he wanted to drown to me. Then he turned to Dr. Keisuke. "I tried rescuing him, but he wouldn't let me...man if only he weren't so stubborn."

"If I were in his shoes I would've just drowned.. if I weren't to be able to handle what was ahead for me."

Ranma eyed the beakers on the table. "So, what exactly did you find?"

"Well-" Dr. Keisuke began. "This beaker that shows the water from the Ross Sea, are too salty." He pulled out the next beaker."This beaker shows the waters from McMurdo Sound, are too crystalline from the sea ice." After that, he pulled out the next marked beaker. "Now this beaker shows waters from the Yellow River-"

"Hey! You never mentioned anything about a yellow river."

"It was one of the rivers mentioned in the legend."

"So, I guess this means you two didn't want to me know about _this_ yellow river; well am I right, or what?"

"That's only because of where it's located," Dr. Keisuke said, bringing himself back on topic. "With the waters from the ice crystals, along with the waters of the Yellow River, they're too dense by their molecules to spread out evenly."

Ranma tossed his eyes aside in annoyance. "They all look the same to me."

Dr. Keisuke pulled out the last one."The waters from Lake Fryxell seems to be the winner; the water molecules between Lake Fryxell, and the ice crystals seem to be even, and stable.

Suddenly, the main doctor come out to tell them the good news. "He's at seven- five."

Then the surgeon came out."Eighty."

Then, after the surgeon, and the perfusionist came out."Eighty-five."

After that, the main doctor called out again."Ninety."

Then the surgeon again. "Ninety-seven."

At last, the perfusionist. "Ninety- eight-point- nine."

The _doctors_ high-fived.

Ranma stood straight out of the seat he was in with tears his eyes "Really!?"

"He's sleeping it off, but his Hypothermia, and coma, have ended," the surgeon said in reply.

More tears dripped down his eyes before he wiped them away with his sleeve; he smiled with a light blush. "When I can see him?"

"When he wakes up," the doctor answered in the end.

This time, Tatewaki, was finally given the gift the hear, talk, and see. This time, he didn't know why, but he could understand this wise enormous penguin. It spoke down to him.

"You're missing something; something important?"

"You're not done yet, Tachi."

"You must live."

"You can't stay here."

"You must go."

"Go carry out what you have to do."

"For your purpose; this purpose chose you."

{AN: Tacky, but you get my picture.}


	8. Hidden Legend Ice Crystals of Mixed Seas

Chapter Seven: Hidden Legends of Antarctica: Ice Crystals of Mixed Seas!

All the doctors, and the rest of the rescue team finally, left the room Tatewaki's, was resting in.

"He's awake," The main doctor called out.

Ranma looked around the room. "Aren't one of you guys suppose to be monitoring him?"

"Since he's awake were going to back, and check up on him in another hour or so," the other doctor explained.

Dr. Keisuke simply, only gave a nod for Ranma, to go on ahead, and visit Tatewaki, for himself.

Ranma walked in, and closed the door. "You awake?"

Tatewaki's eyes shot wide open as he sprang up from his pillow; he squeezed his sheets unsettled. "Ranma Saotome?" (So he was really here?)

Ranma read Tatewaki's expression clearly well before he let out a testing smirk. "What, don't remember I was here, or is that you finally figured out that I'm real, and I've really been here all this time.

Tatewaki turned his head away as he clenched his teeth. (After all this time?) "Er.."

"Don't worry, lucky for you I still don't nothin'..nothing you wouldn't want me to know anyway. Dr. Keisuke, just got done with his experiment."

"Did he find anything?"

"According to him he did."

"Did he test it out on anything he found.. to see if it worked?"

"Na." Ranma, shook his head before he asked on. "So how are you feeling?"

Tatewaki clenched his sheet tighter with a scowled in vein. "Since when do you care how I _feel_?"

Ranma was taken aback. (Gee now he's ten times worse to me just because he finally, found out that I'm real.) Next, he let out his own insulting frown in bitter vein."Hey, I was worried sick about you back there. Do you have any idea what they did to you back here?"

"Aye, I do. In fact, they told me everything after I woke up. So listen well Saotome, I don't need you, or anyone else to worry about me; it's not like you ever had before; I can take care of myself. I'm surprised for ye not to have booted I in the head, and leave me out there in the snow..in my darkest hour."

Ranma's face expression never changed; he only retorted back in snappish, aggression. "Maybe I should've took your file, and let you die out there; or let them stop your heart without that stupid machine, and obtain it that way. Yet, apparently, it seems that you can't die over here. If Antarctica can't kill you, then what can!?"

"Thou art just want me dead so that Dr. Keisuke, can hand my file over to thee on a silver platter!" Tatewaki shouted back at him.

From there Tatewaki, and Ranma, just exchanged glares, and yells at each other.

"Seeing as you're all willing to do it!?" Ranma snapped back in sarcasm. "

"What's that suppose to mean!?"

"It means I know I'm a part of this whole thing!?"

Tatewaki let out a small twitch before leaned back. "And what makes you think that!? Thee told me you knew nothing!"

"Except that I'm the only one you're keeping that file from; if I hadn't come I probably would've never known about it!"

"Think what you want Saotome, but that file still doesn't answer everything, nor does it explain the reason why I'm I came down here to begin with."

Ranma stepped out to him with one last bitter glare. "Well it looks like I'm gonna find out one way, or the other according to Dr. Keisuke; you even said it yourself!" After that, a very fed up Ranma, turned to leave slamming the door behind him.

Dr. Keisuke looked up from his lab, and blinked at Ranma, in confusion. "Back so soon?"

Ranma glanced away. "Humph..we got into a stupid fight."

"About what?"

"Everything," Ranma turned to the rest. "Thanks for turning Kuno, back into his arrogant, obnoxious self."

The team just stared at Ranma, when the main doctor got up. "If you're done, I'm going to in, and check up on him."

"He seems to be _perfectly fine_ to _me_," Ranma pressed onwards in sarcasm.

After the main doctor, left back to the room, Dr. Keisuke, turned to Ranma. "After you cool off, maybe it's best that you go in there, and apologize to him."

"No way! Why do I gotta be the one to do it?"

"He just woke up from a coma, that's why. Not to mention he just went through hypothermia, and cardiopulmonary bypass surgery. They put chemicals in him to stop his heart of beating; he could've died. Right now, I wouldn't exactly blame him for being a little irritable."

"He doesn't seem all that different to me. Besides, he's the one who got himself into all this mess in the first place. How is this my fault again?"

"I'm not saying that any of this is your fault; all I'm saying is that it would be easier on Tatewaki, if you went in and apologized..or at least try."

Ranma sighed tapping his foot impatiently. "I think I should get to see what's in that files of his before I do anything else."

"There's a chance you won't be able to see what's in his file if you two keep auguring. Fighting, in this case, isn't going to solve anything."

"He's the one who started it!"

"What's the worst fight you had with him since this one?"

"As I'm concerned this is an on-going fight; that goes all the way back when that basterd switched out our thin cylinders; all because he wouldn't trust me with his."

"If you knew what was in that file you would understand why Kuno, kept, so hard to keep it secret."

"That's if I ever get the chance to read it; I _still_ don't understand what I have to do with this."

"File says it all."

"Not according to him."

"It's not that the file doesn't explain everything, it's just not as literal, and that's where Tatewaki, comes in. In this case, there are a few you things you won't understand until you, and Tatewaki, get past this."

Ranma stood up at least. "You know what, I'm going in there, and I'm going to get this thing straightened out, once, and for all!"

Ranma marched back into the room, and slammed the door shut. "Yo, Kuno!?"

Tatewaki glanced up from his sheets to Ranma. "Aye, Saotome?"

Ranma was taken aback when he saw Tatewaki's face expression. He starched his head confused. "Now, what's the matter with you?"

Tatewaki, glanced aside for a minute as he shrugged. (I've got to get past this.) At last he turned to Ranma, along with a deep sigh before he spoke. "I give ye my apology..for pushing ye so much; will you forgive me?"

Ranma's eyes widened, and blinked in shock. (Wait a minute..did he just _apologize_ to me?) Ranma quickly shook it off before he nodded. "I- I didn't mean what I said back there."

"I know..I also know that you would do anything to read my file."

Ranma took it as in insult. "Where are you going with this!?"

Tatewaki's eyes hit his sheets momentarily before he looked back up at Ranma. He swallowed finally, making his decision. (Must get past this. After all the only way he's going to able to get cured is he finds out. If he hadn't came down he could've had the cure without learning the hard truth behind it all.) "I'll offer it to you."

"Offer what?"

"The experiment..my file."

"I'm sensing a _but_."

"Dr. Keisuke, has it."

"Then I'll just get it from him then. "Ranma was about to head out before he turned to Tatewaki. "You sure about this, Kuno?"

Tatewaki nodded with all the certainty he got. "The question is, are _you_ sure you want to look at what's in my file? The consequences could be devastating."

"What you mean is that I could've came all the way down here for nothing."

"Why do you think I'm here in the first place?"

"So I wouldn't have to; but I still don't understand why you would come all the way down here for me?"

"The file will say..as much as it can. Just remember it's _your_ choice; thou might want to reconsider before you do anything, or make any rash decisions."

"I've already made mine."

Tatewaki, and Ranma, exchanged looks before Ranma, closed his eyes, and walked back out.

"Yo, Dr. Keisuke, guess what?" Dr. Keisuke, brought out the file, and handed it to Ranma. "How'd you know."

"Call it a predictable hypothesis." Ranma took a good look at the file he, at last, had back in hand. "And what about the experiment?"

"After the file," Dr. Keisuke answered in wisdom.

Ranma opened up the file, and starting going through everything. "Yo, doc, there's nothing in here."

"Try finding something that's missing from your tin cylinder," Dr. Keisuke hinted wisely.

"Yeah, missing informa-" Ranma this time read through everything when he finally bumped into the page called: Hidden Legends of Antarctica! Ice Crystals of Mixed Seas! "Is this the document you were talking about?"

"No, the document is written with a book Tatewaki, was looking for. _That's_ still in Nerima, and I don't have a copy," Dr. Keisuke added in explanation.

"Was looking for? Why, would he be looking for that?"

"It's the same reason why he came down here to being with. Like I have mentioned before, file says all."

"Huh..yeah-sure." Ranma eyed Dr. Keisuke at first. Then he turned the file work I hand, and reread the legend when he ran into the missing information; the missing information that wasn't in his file. (Well at least _that_ yellow river is mentioned in here.) He kept on reading. "JUSENKYO!?" Ranma's jaw dropped as he his eyes flew right open like they never had before. Ranma turned to Dr. Keisuke. "Kuno, came all the way down here to Antarctica to find a cure for my curse!?"

Dr. Keisuke nodded before he sent a serious look out to Ranma. "Do you understand now?"

"Well if Kuno, did all of this in order for me to get cured then that means..that means.." Ranma's eyes expanded to no end as he gasp. "Oh my-" Ranma; he stood there in complete shock. "That means Kuno, knew about my cruse; he knew I changed!" He turned to Dr. Keisuke. "After all that time!"

"That's what he came down here to find, but it's still not the reason; there's another. I mean something _had_ to make him come down here, and find a cure for your curse in the first place, right?" Dr. Keisuke hinted along.

"But what reason would he possibly have; I never given him a reason too. I had no idea that he even.." Ranma shook his head. "I can't believe he traded everything he had, if not his life, _twice_, just so I can get cured; even when there is no guarantee that it would work."

"You're both going to have to discuses that one on your own; I can't speak for Tatewaki, here."

"What gets me is why he came all the way to Antarctica, when there's a perfectly good cure at Jusenkyo; I could've just jumped into the springs of drowned man, and got cured that way."

"You really believe that if you jumped into the spring of drowned man that you would get cured?"

Ranma nodded along handing Dr. Keisuke, an odd look."Yeah, why not?"

Dr. Keisuke let out a long sigh. "There is no cure for your curse in Jusenkyo; the spring of drowned man won't cure you."

Ranma blinked in disbelief when he turned to Dr. Keisuke, in more shock. "What!? No way!? What do you mean the spring of drowned man won't care me!? Who told you that!?"

Dr. Keisuke told up Ranma's _cure_. "This did." After that, he explained more. "If you would've jumped into the spring of drowned man, it would've turned your other side into the last man that drowned there."

"It what!?"

"Yes, you would've token the shape of that man; with his DNA, combined with yours; and who's to say that it would even _cure_ your girl side?"

"You gotta be kidding me!?"

"I'm afraid I'm not; the place is called the cursed springs, and not the cured springs," Dr. Keisuke simply put.

Ranma couldn't believe his ears. "I can't believe this. How am I so sure that you're aren't lying to me again like you did last time!?"

"I was only covering for Tatewaki," Dr. Keisuke pointed out."Besides, it's not just the matter of being immersed, or have been drowned. It matters how much you've been in that water, and how long. It also depends on the amount, and structure of molecules that would trigger your DNA. It acts like a mutation; gene's alternating, and rearranging your DNA. After all your cells control with genes it expresses, or not. Meaning that one spring could have a different amount from the other. That's why it's called the spring of drowned man, and not the springs of drowned sixteen year old boy; even if that were the case, whatever boy drowned there last, his DNA will only combined to yours as I had mentioned before."

Ranma only understood half. (This is not happening..this is not happening..) "Okay then, if what you said was true, then how come there's a cure over here? Didn't that water flow over here."

"Only Jusenkyo's waters flowed over here; I never mentioned any specific spring water, or in this case the water from the spring of drowned man."

"Then how do you know which waters which?"

"The water over here has been frozen, and tested on. Jusenkyo's waters are filled with an intercomplex water molecules that changes the shape of your body; by changing your DNA, and depending how much it you've observed; kind of like radiation."

"Now I have estimated the right amount for you. Now there are chance this could back fire; but it never had before, and it's your choice weather you want to test it out or not. When/if you're ready; I'll worm it up, and have you drink it. Technically, with these experiments, we could end up alternating our own springs."

"Why do you have to heat it up?"

"What makes you think that cold water is going to cure you, if it changes/cruses you in the first place? Jusenkyo, put a curse on you; what makes you think it'll remove it. It's not called the cured springs, now is it?"

"So what's what in those ice crystals?" Ranma asked at last.

"Yes, the _frozen_ waters from Jusenkyo," Dr. Keisuke tying up any lose ends.

Ranma eyed up to Dr. Keisuke. "I'll be back."

Ranma entered back into the room in silence.

Tatewaki, blinked in surprise. "Thou art back."

Ranma looked away feeling anxious. "Uh- yeah.." He had his hands behind his back as he looked down at his swaying foot. "Um..."

Tatewaki read Ranma, like a book. "You finally read the file."

Ranma nodded before he spoke; his voice was shaky, but managed to pull through, and looked up at Tatewaki. "How long have you knew?"

Tatewaki knew exactly what he meant. "Always." Ranma was trying to breath as his heart pounded faster, and faster. "So, um..what was reason behind all of this again? Why would you put yourself through all this mess, for my sake? Ranma shrugged aside. "You didn't have to do all of this for me..none of it. I mean all we ever do is fight, and get on each other nerves all the time.

"What I done for you, I planned on doing beneath they knowledge. It matters not to me what you do with your cruse; but this _is_ something you wanted."Ranma blinked a few times before he looked quickly away in thought. (What I wanted?) Ranma walked around the left side of Tatewaki's bed before he sat there; he looked right at him; their eyes were super-glued to each other that moment. "What do _you_ want, Kuno?"

"I wanted was for you to hear me. For you to live your life, and leave the rest of_ this_ for me, so you wouldn't have to worry about finding a cure," Tatewaki looked aside for a minute before he turned back to Ranma, with a sadden sigh."I know I've always give you hard time, but that's because, deep down, all I ever wanted was you."

Ranma couldn't believe his ears. (He what?)

"What I don't want is to be alone, and I don't want to be afraid anymore. I'm so tired of trying to fight this. Yet, the more I hide the more I realize that I'm losing you."

Ranma shook his head. "You're not going to lose me Kuno."

"You… rescued me."

Ranma nodded along with a small blush. "Uh- yeah, I seem to do that a lot."

"You saved my life."

Ranma nodded again."That's, because, in the end, you let me." He shrugged aside. "And I wasn't the only one.

"In more ways then I then I count."

Ranma felt himself being swept away in the moment.

"I was so scared," a few tears escaped his eyes. "Say you're here, and it's all over now."

Ranma slowly, wrapped his hands around Kuno's face; he couldn't take the feeling anymore as well. Tears dripped down his face."I'm right here Kuno, right here..shh.." Ranma's hands brushed through his hair. "It's okay; it's all over now."

Tatewaki brought his hand up to Ranma's, holding them in place. He swallowed nervously, but his serious face expression never left his face; not to mention, along with is tears. "Ranma Saotome?"

More tears shed from Ranma's yes; he couldn't describe it the feeling, nor could he shake it off. "Yeah, Kuno?" He could tell whatever Tatewaki, was about to say, he meant it.

" All I want was to be there for you; to stay with you; to- to protect you, and care for you. I love you, and I know I will for the rest of my life. Will you marry with me?"

Ranma froze like an icicle, and his heart quickened in pace. (He didn't just- no, he did; I didn't hear wrong. He just proposed. I can't believe he just asked me to marry him, and meant it.) Ranma blinked a few times deep in thought. (What do I do? What do I say?) before another thought hit. (But I'm a g-) Ranma shook his head. (Screw it; I don't care anymore. Guy, girl.. who cares..it doesn't matter… right?) Ranma shook his head again as he shrugged aside. (I mean.. we've been through way too much.. that it shouldn't matter anymore. All that does matter is everything he had done for me, and it was for me for me..no matter what got in the way…which-which says _a lot_.) Ranma took a deep breath.(This is going to take some time getting use to; but if he really cares _that much_ that won't matter to him; which means his serious.. really serious. Not to mention the fact he _asked _me. He didn't force me, he didn't say I should, he _asked_ me..for what I wanted..for what _I_ wanted. I never get _asked_ for what I want..never. I'm always being pushed into things I don't even wanna do.) His tears started up again as he nodded. "Coming down here was more than enough, Kuno. I never thought anyone actually cared about me..about what I wanted," Ranma answered in acceptance.

They exchanged tears before they drew closer, and closer. Ranma's eyes widened as shivers climbed up, and down his spine as he body shook in place. (Oh boy..oh boy…oh boy…) There was no question to it, he was nervous, very nervous; he couldn't believe what was about to happen. (This isn't happening; this isn't happening. No way, not even out of the roam of _extreme_ possibly; this isn't happening.) Yet, it did. Their lips finally met sharing their first real kiss. A few moments past before they come to an end. They both pulled out sharing grins, a few confused looks; but overall tears that were finally, converted into happiness. Suddenly they heard the door open when Dr. Keisuke walked in. Dr. Keisuke stood there as the vibes flew around the room; he didn't even need a hypothesis to explain what had just happened.

"Ready to get cured?"

Ranma jumped up back on his feet, and started walking towards Dr. Keisuke, when he gave one more glance back at Tatewaki, back to Dr. Keisuke. "Let's give this a shot."

Dr. Keisuke, went back out to heated up the beaker once more before he came back, and handed it to Ranma. "Here."

Ranma exchanged last minute looks; getting acceptance from Tatewaki, and Dr. Keisuke. Ranma slowly drank the water; the minute he got done Dr. Keisuke, handed him a bucket of cold water. Ranma atomically dumped the bucket over his head. Tatewaki, and Dr. Keisuke, exchanged looks rather impressed.

"Wha-" Ranma, covered his mouth still obtaining looks from the both of them. I need a mirror."

Dr. Keisuke went back into the lab, and came back again, this time with a mirror. Ranma, looked into it surprised. Ranma looked up from the mirror to the other two. "You mean to tell me that it actually worked."

"You wanna test it again."

Ranma nodded quickly.

He splashed himself again, and again; using the hot, and cold water to see that he had not changed. Tears of relief came to his eyes. (I believe it..I'm- I'm cured.) Just then looked up at Dr. Keisuke, and then to Kuno. (If it wasn't for Kuno-) The teardrops continued to fall. Right then he ran to Tatewaki's hospital bed, and leaped right on him; he kissed him all over his face."Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you. I love you so much; you're the best.

Tatewaki's heart skipped a beat before he, and Dr. Keisuke, let out some laughter. Dr. Keisuke, headed on his way out with a quickly glance back at them. (Just like the way my brother use to be.) After that he found an old photo book, and flipped through some old photographs, of the events he shared with his brother, and his brother's _husband_, a long ago. And since the search team was interested. Dr. Keisuke, had told him what happened the day he passed on.

Tatewaki, wrapped his arms around Ranma, just as he kissed the top of his head. Ranma's head poked up with a grin of sincere affection spread across his face.

"I love you."

And there a response back, but only one. "I love you too."

{AN: Too bad this wasn't the end.}

Hours later, the _doctors_ eventually went around for one last round to make sure Tatewaki, was able enough to leave the next day. The main doctor walked out to Dr. Keisuke. "He's well enough to leave tomorrow, but he will still need close, intense hospital care until we know that he has been fully recovered;" afterwards, the main doctor pulled out a manual, and kit. "Here is some quick emergency supplies just in case if something goes wrong. If something goes wrong that's out of your control, contact us, and we'll be back."

"Of course; thank you," Dr. Keisuke replied back with a nod.

Once the rescue crew finally, left Dr. Keisuke, went into the other room to see that Ranma, packing their things together as Tatewaki, was still resting up. Dr. Keisuke, placed the kit on the stand."All ready to fly back tomorrow?"

Ranma turned back to Dr. Keisuke. "Yeah, but I am going to miss this place. I mean-" Ranma shrugged aside. "-it's not, so bad once you've gotten use to it."

Tatewaki, added along. "We'll definitely miss it here,"

"I'll tell you what I'm not going to _miss_… the thought of what I'm going to have to back to once I leave this place."

"_Well, not everything_…" Dr. Keisuke, hinted off one last time. Ranma turned to Dr. Keisuke, along with some nervous laughter with a hand behind his head. "Of course not."

Dr. Keisuke walked up to the door before he turned once more to the other two. "Well, I'm heading off, for some sleep. Rest up good, cause you two have a long flight tomorrow."

"Don't worry, we will," Tatewaki replied back. "Sleep well, Dr. Keisuke."

"Yeah.. good Night, Dr. Keisuke," Ranma called out; just then he forgot something. "Oh, and um..thanks for helping him out.

Dr. Keisuke, shook his head. "It wasn't anything I haven't done before." After that, he finally left out closing the door behind him.


	9. Discovery of Antarctica

Epilogue: Discovery of Antarctica!

It blew heavily in the night, and, march first, was right around the corner. In the morning, Antarctica, was left dark, desolate, and isolated with no visitors, and no more company except the penguins, seals, whales, and other fish, and squid of the sea. It snowed, and then it froze all over; all over Antarctica. Over the glacial grounds, mountains. Over the ice fields, and dry valleys. Over the streams, and outlets; and over all the other things as such the domes, and the submarine.

The submarine, the nuclear submarine lab sat there, and froze there with only a cure inside. It solidified more, and more, as the ice, and snow stuck onto it from the wind. It stood there like some sort of symbol or figure. Just as abandoned, and alone as Antarctica, was itself.

Yet, there was one; only one that had desolate flightless bird which stood there right in front of the submarine, it squawked, and honked until another penguin came by as it did the same. Then another one, and another one until the whole area of the submarine, was covered by penguins. Their cries called out the submarine, but there was nothing; nothing except a little special connection between human, and animal. These phenomenal singles, reached the electronics in the outer parts of the world, out of the Antarctic world. Not only have reached single; they've reached the hearts of many others, such as Tatewaki, and Ranma, themselves. Jin's message was clear, and the two would never forget it.

All home to one:

Antarctica.

THE END!

{AN: Do not own Ranma1/2, or anything else that isn't mine, so don't sue. Warning, there is O.C.

Done at last! 121 pages. Few! I lost count on how much research I actually did for this fanfic. To be honest I hardly, knew anything about Antarctica, until I made this. The only thing I really made up was the snow bridge within Antarctica's landscape; the rest of it was based on fact.

Now, innless Rumiko Takashi, knocks on my door, specifically explaining to me on how Ranma, could get cured by the spring of drowned man at Jusenkyo, I'm sticking to my own hypothesis, as a _scientist_. So, I don't wanna hear no crap from nobody. Been there, done that, and never again..no, just no.. that's why they invented Fanfiction.

PS: Thankyou for Reading! Please Review! I really hope you enjoyed it!}


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